Study reveals genes that fight genes may hold key to longevity

A study of the genomes of 1000 centenarians in New England has highlighted 150 variations of DNA sequence which the researchers claim indicate with 77 percent accuracy whether someone will reach a century.

Conducted by scientists at the University of Boston, and published this week in Nature Magazine, the study has big implications for a field which has for some time been preoccupied with finding a single gene or handful of genes associated with long life.

One of the more surprising findings was the fact that the subjects possessed just as many genetic variations associated with disease as the wider population, suggesting that the genetic variations unique to centenarians are associated with protecting against diseases.

After scouring some 300,000 sequence variations researchers discovered a complex collection of genetic variations which were identified as potentially influencing things like bone metabolism and hormone regulation as well as stress response and brain-cell function. It is hoped that some of the variants could lead to better treatments for age-related problems such as Alzheimer’s and cardio vascular disease, amongst others.

A relatively small sample size in the field of genetics research, the Boston University scientists said they planned to conduct a wider study. Currently data are being analysed from a large European study, GEHA (Genetics of Healthy Aging), of 2,650 nonagenarian sibling pairs. The team is also gearing up to repeat their analysis using findings taken from a study of about 600 Japanese centenarians.