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At least 1,153 records · Page 64Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

GLUT-4, tumour necrosis factor, essential fatty acids and daf-genes and their role in glucose homeostasis, insulin resistance, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, and longevity.

GLUT-4 receptor, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), essential fatty acids (EFAs) and their metabolites and daf-genes seem to play an important and essential role in the maintenance of glucose homeostasis, and in the pathobiology of obesity and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Daf-genes encode for proteins which are 35% identical to the human insulin receptor, a transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) type signal and can also enhance the expression of superoxide dismutase (SOD). On the other hand, EFAs and their metabolites can increase the cell membrane fluidity and thus, enhance the expression of GLUT-4 and insulin receptors. In addition, EFAs can suppress TNF-alpha production and secretion and thus, are capable of reversing insulin resistance. Melatonin has anti-oxidant actions similar to daf-16, TGF-beta and SOD. Hence, it is likely that there is a close interaction between GLUT-4, TNF-alpha, EFAs, daf-genes, melatonin and leptin that may have relevance to the development of insulin resistance, obesity, NIDDM, complications due to NIDDM, longevity and ageing.

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2↗
PubMed2000

The effects of Nosema algerae Vavra and undeen (Microsporida: Nosematidae) pathogen of Culex pipiens L.(Diptera: Culicidae) from Egypt on fecundity and longevity of the host.

A microsporidian, Nosema algerae Vavra and undeen, was found parasitizing larvae and adults of a laboratory colony of Culex pipiens L. originated from Gharbia Governorate. A detailed examination of the developmental stages of the pathogen under light and electron microscopes showed that they are typical of the original characteristics of N. algerae. Other observations on the infected individuals revealed that spores of the pathogen were found in all organs of the infected mosquitoes except the nervous system. The most heavily infected organ was the alimentary canal, particularly the mid gut. The susceptibility of the different larval instars of a laboratory maintained Cx. pipiens colony to infection by N. algerae was determined. Using 24 hours exposure to a range of doses between 40 and 5 x 10(5) spores per cm, larvae of the 1st and 2nd instars were more susceptible to infection than 3rd and 4th instar larvae as indicated by the differences in the estimated IC50 dosages. The dosages of N. algerae which produced 50% mortality (LC50) in each group of treated larvae was approximately 25-30 times higher than the doses that caused 50% infection. When a sublethal dose of 1.2 x 10(3) spores per cm2 of N. algerae was used to induce infection in each of the different larval instars infection rates of 100% were obtained in all exposed larval instars and in adults developed from them. Females from larvae infected with N. algerae had significantly reduced fecundity, fertility, and longevity regardless the larval instar in which infection was initiated. However, the reduction was obviously high when 1st and 2nd instars were exposed. The accumulative effects of reduced survival and fecundity on the reproductive potential of the infected females derived from larvae that were infected as 1st and 2nd instars probably serve to limit the natural increase of mosquito populations. Further studies are necessary, however, to determine the efficacy of this pathogen on target species in the natural environment where the combined effect of the pathogen and environmental stresses may enhance its pathogenicity.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

[The longevity of centenarians].

BACKGROUND: The increase of mean lifetime has also given rise to an increase in the number of centenarians; such a circumstance finds its explanation in an improvement in hygienic conditions in addition to the progress in the medical field. The aim of this retrospective study is the attempt to identify the probable factors encouraging the achievement of an extreme longevity. METHODS: The study was carried out, on a house to house basis, on a sample of 46 calabrian centenarians. In order to demonstrate the hereditary component, the frequency of the centenarians among the closest relatives was considered, through birth and death certificates. The case history questionnaire used most geriatric and gerontological centres associated to the national project Italian Multicentric Study on Centena-rians was used. RESULTS: The profile of our long-lived subject has allowed us to underline the importance of the environmental factor as well as the hereditary component. In most cases these subjects live with their family and have excellent relationships, receiving a great deal of attention from the persons with which they live. CONCLUSIONS: The authors have therefore reached the conclusion by stressing the importance of both factors (hereditary and genetic); however a type of intervention in order to lengthen the mean lifetime is hypothesized exclusively in the environment field through the elimination of certain risk factors.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Positive emotions in early life and longevity: findings from the nun study.

Handwritten autobiographies from 180 Catholic nuns, composed when participants were a mean age of 22 years, were scored for emotional content and related to survival during ages 75 to 95. A strong inverse association was found between positive emotional content in these writings and risk of mortality in late life (p < .001). As the quartile ranking of positive emotion in early life increased, there was a stepwise decrease in risk of mortality resulting in a 2.5-fold difference between the lowest and highest quartiles. Positive emotional content in early-life autobiographies was strongly associated with longevity 6 decades later. Underlying mechanisms of balanced emotional states are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Nutritional factors on longevity and quality of life in Japan.

The relationship of nutrient intakes to life expectancies in Japan since the Second World War has demonstrated that sufficient intakes of animal protein and fat are crucial for attaining longevity. In the community dwelling elderly, the higher the serum albumin was, the longer the further life expectancy in the elderly. Serum total cholesterol showed a U-shape relationship to further life expectancies in the elderly. Low serum cholesterol was deleterious for higher levels of functional capacity. Low serum cholesterol and low serum alpha-tochopherol accelerated depressive status in the community dwelling elderly. For reducing malnutrition and for improving nutritional status in undernourished elders, we carried out intervention trials. Instructions on how to prepare ideal daily meals were useful in functionally independent elders because a certain group of Japanese elderly has been stigmatized for eating meat. In frail elders provided with daily meals in a nursing home, a digestive enzyme drug was helpful for enhancing serum albumin levels.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and its association with human longevity in the Uygur nationality in Xinjiang.

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between apoE alleles and life-span. METHODS: Apolipoprotein E genotypes were determined in 164 unrelated Uygurs including 35 persons aged 90 years or older, 71 men aged 20-35 and 54 men with myocardial infarction by using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism was analyzed among three groups. RESULTS: There was statistically significant difference in the epsilon 4 allele frequencies among three groups. The epsilon 4 allele frequency in olds was the lowest (0.057), while in patients suffering from myocardial infarction (MI) was the highest (0.213). In MI patients the average age of first attack in epsilon 4 allele carriers was significantly younger than that of non-carries, 51.3 and 58.3 years, respectively (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: ApoE genotype may have some impact on human longevity.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Effects of immunocontraception on population, longevity and body condition in wild mares (Equus caballus).

Contraception is becoming a common approach for the management of captive and wild ungulates yet there are few data for contraceptive effects on entire populations. Management-level treatment of mares with porcine zona pellucida (PZP) vaccine resulted in zero population growth of the Assateague Island wild horse population within 1 year of initiation of treatment. Contraceptive efficacy was 90% for mares treated twice in the first year and annually thereafter. For mares given a single initial inoculation, contraceptive efficacy was 78%. The effort required to achieve zero population growth decreased, as 95, 83 and 84% of all adult mares were treated in each of the first 3 years, compared with 59 and 52% during the last 2 years. Mortality rates for mares and foals after the initiation of management-level treatments decreased below historic and pretreatment mortality rates of approximately 5%. Two new age classes have appeared among treated animals (21-25 years and > 25 years), indicating an increase in longevity among treated animals. Body condition scores for all horses, all adult mares and non-lactating mares increased significantly between summer 1989 and autumn 1999 but did not change significantly in lactating mares. These results provide reliable data for the construction of realistic models for contraceptive management of free-roaming or captive ungulate populations.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Change in body weight and longevity.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of body weight change on longevity. DESIGN: Cohort analytic study, following men from 1977 through 1988. SETTING: The study was conducted among Harvard University alumni with mean age of 58 years. PATIENTS: Alumni, free of cardiovascular disease and cancer, completed questionnaires on weight, height, cigarette habit, and physical activities in 1962 or 1966 and in 1977 (n = 11,703). We assessed weight change between questionnaires, based on self-reported weights. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Mortality from all causes (n = 1441), coronary heart disease (n = 345), and cancer (n = 459), determined from death certificates. RESULTS: Lowest all-cause mortality was among alumni maintaining stable weight (+/- 1 kg). With this category as referent (relative risk = 1.00), relative risks of death associated with losing more than 5 kg, losing between 1 and 5 kg, (more than 1 kg and up to 5 kg) gaining between 1 and 5 kg (more than 1 kg and up to 5 kg), and gaining more than 5 kg were 1.57 (95% confidence interval, 1.34 to 1.84), 1.26 (1.10 to 1.46), 1.06 (0.90 to 1.24), and 1.36 (1.11 to 1.66), respectively. For coronary heart disease mortality, relative risks were 1.75 (1.26 to 2.43), 1.43 (1.05 to 1.93), 1.28 (0.91 to 1.80), and 2.01 (1.36 to 2.97), respectively. Weight change did not predict cancer mortality. Findings were not explained by cigarette habit, physical activity, or body mass index. We observed similar trends for follow-up between 1977 and 1982 and between 1983 and 1988. Those losing or gaining more weight also reported greater total lifetime weight loss, which may indicate weight cycling. CONCLUSIONS: Both body weight loss and weight gain are associated with significantly increased mortality from all causes and from coronary heart disease but not from cancer.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMedDate not supplied

International longevity comparisons.

Japan leads the world in life expectancy with an average future lifetime of 78.9 years. Iceland is next, followed by Sweden and Switzerland. The United States ranks 11th at 75.4 years. In the past decade, United States' men generally narrowed the expectation of life gap among other industrialized nations, but for the country's women the experience was uneven. These international longevity disparities for men and women in the United States narrowed considerably at later years of age. For instance, the United States-Japan expectancy gap is currently 2.0 years at age 45 and declines to about 0.9 years at age 65.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

U.S. longevity at a standstill.

Life expectancy in the United States did not increase during 1991, remaining at the 1990 level of 75.4 years. For boys, it was 72.0 years and for girls, 78.8 years. On the other hand, the infant mortality rate continued downward when a new benchmark was achieved--an all-time low, 8.9 per 1,000 live births. Also encouraging was a marked improvement in longevity among black Americans that significantly narrowed the white-nonwhite differential.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Telomere stability correlates with longevity of human beings exposed to ionizing radiations.

Normal somatic cells have a finite number of divisions, a limited capacity to proliferate. Human telomeres contain TTAGGG repeats which are considered a molecular clock marker. The gradual and progressive telomere shortening at each replicative cycle is associated, through the activation of pRB and p53 pathways and genomic instability, to the replicative senescence, a non-dividing state and widespread cell death. There is no information available about telomere status in individuals who live long and have been exposed to ionizing radiations (IR). To determine the telomere stability, we examined telomeres at metaphase, G2-type chromosome aberrations after IR treatment and karyotypic analysis of 15 individuals. Three individuals were above the age of 80 years and 1 among the 3 was estimated to have received more than 10 Gy of occupational exposure about 30 years back. The other 12 were cancer patients that had received more than 50 Gy of gamma-radiation for therapeutic purposes. No telomere instability or defective G2 chromosome repair was found in 3 individuals above the age of 80 years. Whereas, 3 out of 7 prostate and 1 out of 5 breast cancer patients showed higher G2-type chromosome damage as well as a high frequency of telomeric association (also known as chromosome end associations) along with frequent loss of telomeres. Present studies demonstrate that telomere stability along with normal G2 chromosome repair correlates with the longevity of human beings, whereas defective G2 chromosome repair and telomere instability correlate with the radiotherapy related late toxicity.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Birthweight, rapid growth, cancer, and longevity: a review.

The fetal growth restriction hypothesis states that retarded growth in utero promotes health problems later in life. While most of the studies on intrauterine growth retardation (as measured by birthweight) confirm this hypothesis, many researchers have found flaws in these studies. In addition, many studies have found either no correlation or a positive relation between birthweight (BW) and adult blood pressure or mortality. Furthermore, high BW leads to greater adult obesity and chronic disease, and increasing macrosomia in newborns raises the risk for birth-related problems. Increased cancer risk is also tied to higher BW, and catch-up or accelerated growth generally has negative health effects. Adult height has been found to correlate with greater BW and birthlength (BL), and several studies have found an inverse relation between height and longevity. Paradoxical findings, such as lower BW and low levels of cardiovascular disease in the developing world, are presented. Within 25 years, genetic engineering will allow in utero alterations to the fetus, resulting in higher BW and taller adults. The authors suggest that increased BW leading to larger adult body size has dangerous implications in terms of human health and survival.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

The effects of laboratory Hepatozoon gracilis infection on the fecundity, mortality and longevity of Culex (Culex) pipiens Linneaus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Egypt.

Laboratory observations on the effect of Hepatozoon gracilis on the egg production of the mosquito Cx. (Cx.) pipiens Linneaus under laboratory conditions revealed that H. gracilis infected mosquitoes produced significantly fewer eggs than uninfected ones. The egg production decreased as parasite burdens increased. Reduction in blood meal size in infected females did not reduce fecundity. No size differences was detected between oocyst-infected and uninfected females although sporozoite positive females were significantly large. Preoviposition period was affected significantly, while incubation period and percentage of egg hatching showed no significant changes. The longevity of female infected mosquitoes decreased insignificantly than in uninfected ones.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Longevity of forest and taiga ticks (Ixodidae) infected and non-infected with Borrelia burgdorferi groups].

A life longevity of Ixodes ricinus and I. persulcatus have been examined in laboratory conditions. It was found that specimens infected with borreliae live slightly longer than non-infected ones (difference is not reliable); females live 1.5 times longer than males; I. ricinus lives 2-4 times longer than I. persulcatus. It is suggested that I. persulcatus has a higher rate of metabolism than I. ricinus and that the latter species obtains an ability to survive after the last moult two winters and keep an activity in two summer seasons not counting the year of moulting.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Adult longevity of certain mosquito species after larval and pupal exposure to sublethal concentration of an insect growth regulator, hexaflumuron.

Longevity of the adults of three vector species, Culex quinquefasciatus, Anopheles stephensi, and Aedes aegypti was drastically reduced when they were exposed at larval and pupal stages to sublethal concentrations of an insect growth regulator hexaflumuron. When the three species were exposed to 0.05 mg/l at the pupal stage, males and females of Cx. quinquefasciatus suffered a more shortened life span than other species. Among the females whose feeding activity was adversely affected by IGR treatment at the pupal stage, Ae. aegypti showed the minimum survival duration with LT50 of 2.74 days.

Aedes↗
PubMed2006

Can an increased level of circulating IL-8 be a predictor of human longevity?

BACKGROUND: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-8 are considered to be potent inflammatory agents. However, IL-8 has also been reported to serve as an organ protective factor. The goal of our study was to compare the circulating levels of IL-8 and IL-6 in C-reactive protein (CRP)-negative subjects of different ages. MATERIAL/METHODS: Seventy subjects living in the Wielkopolska region were enrolled into the study and divided into three groups: group 1-30 young healthy subjects 21-37 years of age; group 2-30 healthy elderly individuals, age 65-87; group 3-10 centenarians (100-105 years). In all of these subjects, serum levels of IL-6 and IL-8 were assessed with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Concerning IL-6, both the serum concentration and the frequency of results above the sensitivity limit were comparable in all groups. With respect to IL-8, the frequency of results beyond the sensitivity limit in groups 1 and 2 did not differ significantly (5/30 and 8/30, respectively). By contrast, the majority of subjects from group 3 had an IL-8 level above the limit (9 out of 10; p<0.0001 vs. group 1 and p=0.0007 vs. group 2). In addition, the serum concentration of IL-8 in group 3 was higher than in both the other groups (p<0.01). Moreover, there was a positive correlation between the age of analysed subjects and their level of IL-8 (r=0.450; p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: It seems possible that an association of an increased serum level of IL-8 and a low level of IL-6 is related to longevity.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Longevity of Thai physicians: phase 2 and policy implications.

This is Phase 2 of the authors study on long-lived Thai physicians. After obtaining quantitative data from Phase 1, the authors approached 11 male and 5 female physicians whose ages were older than general population's life expectancy. The authors conducted an in-depth interview using semi-structured questions asking about their life, work, lifestyle, and relevant factors. Then the authors synthesized the factors influencing longevity. The authors found that they are genetic, financial stability/security, trying to be disease-free by increasing positive lifestyle (such as exercise) and decrease negative lifestyle (such as drug addict, alcohol consumption), mind-set to be non-attachment (either doing nothing or busy doing everything), and being mentally ready to die. The authors also proposed policy implications for Thai physicians and people accordingly.

Aged↗