How to determine life expectancy by blood test

It is known that the children of centenarians are more likely than the majority of people to live to a very old age, but the reasons for this are unclear.

Taking as a basis the fact that white blood cells – leukocytes – perform the function of fighting infections and thus prolong human life, scientists at the University of Palermo, working under the guidance of Dr. Sonya Vasto, analyzed the relationship between life expectancy and the content of leukocytes in human blood. To do this, they studied blood samples of 45 men and women aged 75-90 years, whose parents were born in Sicily in the period 1900-1908.

In 25 participants, one of the parents reached the age of 100, and the second died of old age before reaching the typical Italian average life expectancy of 67 years for men and 72 for women.

The parents of the remaining 20 participants, who acted as a control group, died before reaching the average life expectancy.

The authors found that individuals of different groups were characterized by different blood levels of a certain type of leukocytes – the so-called "naive" or "zero" B-lymphocytes. B-lymphocytes are an important component of the immune system, providing the synthesis of antibodies necessary to fight pathogens entering the body, including bacteria. However, unlike mature B-lymphocytes selectively attacking an enemy known to them, naive B-lymphocytes are called that have not yet met with foreign agents and are in a state of readiness to fight any enemy.

The authors emphasize that their results are preliminary, but they hope that their discovery will not only provide a person with a reliable marker of longevity, but also help to increase life expectancy.

Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru according to the materials of the Telegraph.

27.06.2008