Home » Rare genes discovered at the basis of the longevity of centenarians – Medicine

Rare genes discovered at the basis of the longevity of centenarians – Medicine

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Rare genetic variants linked to longevity have been identified: these are genes that are globally beneficial to health, which probably protect their owners from diseases, including those typical of aging. This was revealed by a study published in the journal Nature Aging and very significant for the size of the sample involved, 515 centenarians.

The experts compared the DNA of the 515 centenarians with the DNA of a sample of almost 500 elderly people between 70 and 95 years. The hypotheses initially in the field to explain longevity were two: o the centenarians are devoid of genes that favor the typical diseases of old age (from tumors to dementia); or vice versa they possess rare protective genes which are instead absent in the DNA of individuals with a normal life expectancy.

This second hypothesis turned out to be true: in the DNA of the centenarians there are rare protective genetic variants, which protect them from disease and which are always absent in the elderly without the gift of longevity.

The study was led by Zhengdong Zhang of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who explains: “Rare genetic variants affect an individual’s life expectancy and form part of the genetic architecture of human longevity.” This means that potentially “broad spectrum” anti-aging drugs can be developed, that is, they target the very mechanisms of aging as a whole, rather than focusing on single age-related diseases to extend life expectancy. . (HANDLE).

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