Less growth means longer life?
As a result of a study involving Israeli centenarians, gene variants associated with increased life expectancy were identified. The carriers of the gene were women with a height below average, according to the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Experts from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University compared the genome of Ashkenazi Jews aged 100 and over, their descendants, as well as participants from the control group.
It turned out that long-livers and their children were more likely to have mutations of the receptor gene for insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which is involved in the regulation of growth, development and differentiation of cells and tissues of the body. In carriers of mutations, the process of binding cells to IGF-1 was disrupted, which was accompanied by an increase in the level of this substance in the blood by 37%, said the head of the study Nir Barzilai (Nir Barzilai). The scientists also noted that the women who were carriers of the mutant gene were on average 2.5 centimeters shorter than the participants from the control group.
"In practice, this discovery confirms the opinion that injections of growth hormone as an anti-aging drug used in the United States (and other countries) can be dangerous, because people with low levels of growth hormone live longer. Thus, refusing injections of growth hormone can increase life expectancy," Barzilai said.
The study by American scientists was the first confirmation of the hypothesis about the relationship of IGF-1 gene mutations with life expectancy in humans. Previously, similar data were obtained for mice, worms and fruit flies.
Source: 'Long-life' genes found in 100-year-old humans – New Scientist, 03.03.2008