Longevity and Genetics
It has been discovered that besides the family history and the environment, genetics plays a huger role as well when it comes to the longevity of a human being. Researchers from the Boston University Schools of Public Health and Medicine and the Boston Medical Center made studies regarding this aspect. The team released the results on July 1st, in which it claims that they can predict the longevity of the longevity of the people with approximately 77 percent accuracy. This comes as great news because it means that we have made another step in understanding the role of the human genes.
It has always been believed that the very old people have managed to reach their age because they have certain combinations of genes. In order to verify these claims, the team from the Boston Medical Centre made a study on the centenarians. The centenarians are the representatives of healthy aging, because they do not develop certain illnesses or any major health problems until they are in their mid-nineties.
Paola Sebastiani, PhD, a professor of bio-statistics at the BU School of Public Health and Thomas Perls, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine at the BU School of Medicine and a geriatrician at Boston Medical Center were the ones who conducted the research. The two scientists built a genetic model which included 150 genetic variants. The team was able to use these single nucleotide polymorphisms in order to determine with high accuracy if a person can reach very advanced ages, such as 90, or even 100 in some of the cases. The team also made a surprising discovery, as they managed to identify 19 genetic signatures or clusters which were present in 90 percent of the people they tested.
Those clusters and signatures are responsible for the longevity of the people and also for the apparition of certain illnesses and diseases such as hypertension and dementia. The team also analyzed people who were over 110, and in these people the two researchers found out the highest concentration of genes which are related to the longevity. Dr. Perls, founder and director of the New England Centenarian Study stated that the discovery proved to be a crucial one, as it advanced the domain a lot.
According to him, the predictive medicine has to benefit a lot from the studies which the two professors conducted because it can help the doctors identify which diseases can appear in the human body, and then prevent them with the proper medication. Using the information, the doctors can also screen the patients for particular diseases, especially the ones who have high risks of developing them. They can use this information to see if certain diseases are really inherited or not.
The two researchers analyzed genotype data from more than 1,000 centenarians and other control groups, using a Bayesian statistical approach. The two wanted to identify the single nucleotide polymorphisms which were usually present in the centenarians and in the people belonging to the control group as well. First, the team used the single nucleotide polymorphisms which were present in the case of the people who live very long, and they managed to identify 150 of them. These 150 single nucleotide polymorphisms seemed to be the ones which were able to help the scientists identify the centenarians, as the addition of more SNPs did not help them in predicting the longevity of the people.
Dr. Sebastiani mentioned that the same principles can be applied in order to identify the chances for developing certain diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and cardiovascular problems as well. The team wanted to see if the present of certain illnesses in the case of some of the patients was influenced by their genes. In order to identify this, the team compared the disease-associated variants of the centenarians with the ones from the control groups. There were no differences between these two groups, which means that the genes for longevity are also influential when it comes to the possibility of developing certain illnesses. The two stated that the results are extremely important in case if they are correct, because it would be bad idea to predict the apparition of certain diseases based on the disease-associated variants.
Sebastiani and Pearls believe that the longevity genes are the ones which are the most important when it comes to preventing the apparition of certain diseases. They believe that these longevity genes can fight the genes which cause certain illnesses. The two admitted the fact that the results are not 100 percent conclusive, as they still need to make certain investigations. However they stated that they found the longevity genes in more than 77 percent of the patients which means that in the case of those people the presence of certain disease-associated genes was of no importance. They also mentioned that the lifestyle of the patients is very important as well. The researchers mentioned that the genes model which was used in the case of the people involved in the test might not be effective for a general use, as they are not certain of its effectiveness at such a large scale.
Winifred K. Rossi, deputy director of the National Institute of Aging’s Division of Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology stated that the discoveries are extremely important, as they offered a different approach to the study of the role of certain genes when it comes to the longevity of the people. He was of the opinion that this study could open many doors in the domain, as many other fields could benefit from it, by using it in order to predict certain diseases or complications which might occur in certain people.
