Analysis of Human Inheritance of Longevity is not as Straightforward as One Might Think

Here, researchers note some of the challenges inherent in trying to analyze data on human inheritance of longevity; it isn't as easy as it sounds. Considerable effort has gone into analysis of long-lived families to try to identify genetic variants that might explain why some lineages exhibit greater longevity than others. Nonetheless, so far only a small number of gene variants have been robustly demonstrated to influence human longevity. This poor yield is not for lack of searching, but because it seems likely that individual genetic contributions to longevity are both very small and very specific to environmental circumstances. Every study finds novel variants that correlate within that study population, but no other study is able to replicate that finding. This ultimately leads to a growing consensus that familial longevity is more a matter of transmission of culture and environment than transmission of genes: exercise, diet, exposure to persistent pathogens, and so forth. The study of such exceptionally old individuals (longevity) is important as they likely harbor gene-environment interactions which beneficially regulate molecular pathways involved in longevity, resistance to disease, resilience to negative side-effects of treatment and therefore healthy aging. It has been estimated that age at death (lifespan) attributes for ~25% to genetic variation and this number rises for long-lived individuals as shown by its strong familial clustering. Nevertheless, two ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs