DEXA Scan at Reborne, Marylebone. £199
A DEXA scan is the most accurate measurement there is of two things that matter for how well you age: the density of your bones and the composition of your body, that is, how much of you is muscle, how much is fat, and where that fat sits.
The scan takes about twenty minutes and is carried out by a radiologist at Reborne's private townhouse at 9 Queen Anne Street. It is followed, in the same visit, by a thirty-minute consultation with one of our longevity experts, who goes through your results with you. The radiation dose is very low, a small fraction of a chest X-ray. Scan and consultation together cost £199.
BONE DENSITY AND BODY COMPOSITION
What the Scan Measures
Bone density. The scan measures the mineral density of your bones, usually at the hip and spine, and compares it with what is expected for your age and sex. Bone loss is silent; most people learn about it from a fracture. A DEXA scan tells you years earlier, while there is still time to do something about it.
Body composition. The same scan separates you into fat, lean tissue and bone, region by region, so you can see how much muscle you carry in each limb and how much fat sits around your organs. This is the fat that matters most, and it is the one you cannot see. Someone who trains hard, is a healthy weight and looks fit can still carry visceral fat around the liver and abdomen, where it drives inflammation, insulin resistance and heart disease; appearance, scales and body-fat monitors all miss it. DEXA measures it. It is also the only practical way to know whether a training or weight-loss plan is taking fat off you or taking muscle off you.
Medical Therapy
How the Scan Works
DEXA stands for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The scanner passes two very low-dose X-ray beams through the body; bone, muscle and fat each absorb them differently, and from the difference the scanner calculates the density of your bones and the make-up of every region of your body.
You lie on your back on a padded table while the arm of the scanner moves slowly over you. There is nothing to remove other than metal, no injection, no enclosed space and no discomfort. The whole appointment takes about twenty minutes, and you can go straight back to your day.
Treatment Experience
What to Expect
You come to the townhouse at 9 Queen Anne Street, where the scan is carried out in a private room by a radiologist. Wear something without metal fastenings if you can; there is no need to fast or to stop any medication, but tell us beforehand if you are, or might be, pregnant, or if you have had a contrast scan or barium study in the past week.
The scan is followed by a thirty-minute consultation with one of our longevity experts, in the same visit. You go through your bone density scores and what they mean for you, your body composition by region, including any visceral fat, and leave with clear advice on what to change, what to repeat and when. Nothing is handed over as a printout. If the scan shows something that needs a doctor, you are already in the hands of a hospital that can see you.
Treatment Pathways
Who It Is For
A DEXA scan is useful at almost any age, but there are five groups of people for whom it answers a question that nothing else can.
Repeated HBOT sessions have been shown to lengthen telomeres and reduce senescent cell burden - two of the most direct markers of biological ageing. A 2020 Tel Aviv University study demonstrated telomere lengthening of up to 38% and a 37% reduction in senescent cells following a structured 60-session protocol.
HBOT is clinically established for wound healing where tissue oxygenation is compromised - including diabetic foot ulcers, radiation-injured tissue, and post-surgical recovery where normal healing has stalled. The mechanism is well understood: increased tissue oxygen drives fibroblast activity, collagen synthesis, and angiogenesis.
Bathroom scales cannot tell fat from muscle, and a falling number can mean either. A DEXA scan shows exactly what a programme is doing to you, region by region, so you can keep the muscle and lose the fat. Many of our clients scan at the start of a programme and again three to six months later to see what has changed.
If a parent broke a hip, or was diagnosed with osteoporosis, your own risk is higher than average and worth knowing early. A scan gives you a baseline in your forties, long before the age at which bone density is usually checked, and tells you whether you need to act now or simply watch.
Some common medicines thin bone over time, among them oral steroids, some thyroid treatments, certain breast and prostate cancer therapies and long courses of acid-suppressing drugs. If you have taken any of these for more than a few months, a baseline scan now and a repeat in two years shows whether your bones are holding.
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Treatment Experience
Is a DEXA Scan Right for Me?
A DEXA scan is for anyone who wants to know the state of their bones and the make-up of their body rather than guess at it: anyone over forty, women around and after the menopause when bone loss speeds up, anyone with a family history of osteoporosis or a fracture from a minor fall, and anyone training or changing their diet who wants to know whether they are losing fat or losing muscle.
The scan is quick, painless and uses a very low dose of radiation, far less than a chest X-ray. If you are pregnant, or may be, tell us before you book. If you are unsure whether the scan is right for you, call us and a member of the clinical team will talk it through with you.