Longevity

University College London (United Kingdom) researchers have engineered a new long-lived mouse that possesses extended lifespan and reduced susceptibility to age-related diseases.

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Study prompts a new level of understanding of the regulation of mitochondrial genes and opens new avenues of inquiry into the interplay between mitochondrial function, diet and energy metabolism.

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Smoking, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol in middle-age can slash lifespan by 10 or more years.

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People who stay even moderately fit as they age may live longer than those who are out-of-shape.  A study by Sandra Mandic, from University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand), and colleagues studied 4,384 middle-aged and older adults whose fitness levels were assessed via exercise treadmill tests between 1986 and 2006, then followed these subjects for nine years.

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Telomeres are the endcaps on chromosomes, and telomeric shortening is thought to govern the number of times a cell can divide. Ruth Chan and a team of Hong Kong-based researchers studied  976 Chinese men and 1,030 Chinese women, ages 65+, surveying their dietary habits via a food questionnaire. Overall, only tea consumption was associated with telomere length.

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In that exercise capacity is inversely related to risk of death, a study has determined that sedentary elderly men are at a markedly increased risk of dying, as compared to those men who engaged in regular physical activity.  Peter Kokkinos, from Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (Washington DC, USA), and colleagues studied 3,041 male veterans, ages 70 to 92 years, following the subjects for all-cause mortality for more than 20 years.

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Several studies have found that omega-3 fatty acids, found in high concentrations in oily fish such as salmon, play a therapeutic role in maintaining cardiovascular health, cognitive skills, eyesight, and more, as we age. A study by Harvard University (Massachusetts, USA) researchers and sponsored by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the Association of Schools of Public Health finds that omega-3 deficiency is the sixth biggest killer of Americans.

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The disability profile of midlife adults with pain resembles that of people who are two or three decades older who do not experience pain.   A study by Kenneth E. Kovinsky, from University of California – San Francisco (USA), and colleagues finds that people with pain develop the functional limitations classically associated with aging at much earlier ages. The researchers analyzed data from the 18,531participants, aged 50 and older, who took part in the 2004 Health and Retirement Study.  

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Studies have shown that those individuals with low levels of cardiovascular risk factors experience low rates of subsequent cardiovascular events. From a preventative health point of view, thus it is important to maintain low risk factor burdens of prevalence and trends for cardiovascular disease among adults in the US population.

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A study led by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm shows that the antioxidants in cocoa are likely to increase survival of acute myocardial infarction, also known as heart attack. By eating cholcolate two or more times per week, heart attack survivors cut their risk of dying from heart disease threefold compared to those who do not eat chocolate. Continue reading…