The study, published in the authoritative journal Science (it was conducted by experts from the universities “Sapienza” and “Roma Tre” together with the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT)), is striking in scale: the data of about 4 thousand people who from 2009 to 2015 reached or passed the 105-year mark were processed. Scientists operated on three parameters: date of birth, death (if the person is deceased) and gender, and on the basis of these parameters made adjustments to the extramural dispute that has erupted in science. At the heart of the dispute is a simple at first glance question: is there a biological limit to human life? And here comes the good news from the Italians. First, the facts: the risk of dying with age does increase, there is no escaping the statistics. The paradox is different: after a certain point (just those 105 years) this risk reaches a plateau, simply put – stabilizes. Gerontologist Alexander Khalyavkin, scientific secretary of the Moscow branch of the Gerontological Society of the Russian Academy of Sciences and an employee of the Institute of Biochemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is familiar with the authors of the study, in particular with Elisabetta Barbie, and the results of her work studied with interest. He emphasizes: there is still no consensus on the “biological limit of life expectancy” in the scientific community. And he explains: the rate of aging is individual! – Moreover, comfortable conditions of existence more strongly de-adapt the organism,” says the expert. ”The probability of achieving a record longevity is decreasing, but the average (expected) life expectancy is increasing due to greater comfort. I can give a forecast based on the existing trends: over time, average life expectancy will grow, but its record values, to which only a few people live to, on the contrary, will fall. Therefore, summarizes Khalyavkin, today (in the natural course of events and without artificial intervention in life processes) records of longevity of the past centuries, when the average life expectancy was only 30-40 years, are extremely unlikely. That, however, does not cancel the main thing: as such a “limit of life”, it seems, still does not exist! However, in the study of Italian scientists is interesting not only such a striking conclusion, but also the very fact of studying long-livers – this direction in science often throws up unexpected statistics.

A few years ago, American scientists from the Institute for Aging Research (affiliated with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine) presented the results of a study of 477 elderly Ashkenazi Jews, and the results surprised many. The numbers are comparable in long-lived women, although there are still fewer smokers among them (30 percent). Does this mean that it is possible to drink and smoke away? Experts are sure: of course not! There are just those rare individuals who in any case will live to be 100 years old, it’s all in the genes! Well, the genetic direction in the science of aging has become one of the most fashionable today. The first good news is already available: by studying the genome of long-livers, scientists are gradually identifying genes that seem to influence life expectancy (only recently, the list was supplemented with ABO, which determines blood type, APOE, associated with Alzheimer’s disease, CDKN2B, SH2B3…). But it’s not just about finding the “magic button”. – For example, Valery Mamaev, a gerontologist and researcher at the Institute of Biochemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is sure that correcting the genome is a matter of tomorrow, but at present we need to study and use the invaluable experience of countries that have already significantly increased life expectancy (the 80+ club) and sometimes have not figured out how it happened.

Geography is worth mentioning separately: another clue that long-livers give to mankind is where exactly they live. In 2005, the term “blue zones” even appeared in use – it denotes five places on Earth, which are famous for long-livers: Okinawa in Japan, Sardinia in Italy, Nicoya in Costa Rica, Ikaria in Greece and Loma Linda in California (USA). One of the discoverers of “blue zones” traveler and writer Dan Buettner even tried to identify similar features in the lives of the inhabitants, and in fact – to reveal the secret of longevity. Here it is: physical activity without fanaticism, having a purpose in life, the ability to relax and not overeat, a balanced diet (without abuse of meat and alcohol), commitment to family …. And yet: how important is geography to longevity? – It doesn’t seem to be just about genes. A lot depends on the conditions in which people live, – says Valery Mamaev. – Well, for example, for a long time people thought that selenium is harmful to humans. But now it has become clear that it is part of glutathione peroxidase – the main enzyme of antioxidant defense of the body. Accordingly, in countries where it is scarce in the soil (Finland, New Zealand, and others), selenium correction has resulted in increased human longevity. When extrapolating, it is important to trace how this defect leads to the development of diseases that determine life expectancy in a given country, and to what extent these processes coincide in the compared countries. If these parameters coincide, there is a chance of significant correction of population health. The example of biblical patriarchs, who were famous for their longevity, also speaks about the importance of the conditions in which and how a person lives.

Scientists, to whom “Ogonyok” addressed, admit: one way or another, they do remember about mythical long-livers – this phenomenon cannot help but be of interest. Recall, for example, that, according to the Bible, Adam lived 930 years, Methuselah – 969, Noah – 950. At some point it seemed to researchers that the clue was found: it’s all about how exactly to count. Here is one of the versions: it says that the Bible uses the lunar year and in this case it comes out that, for example, Adam lived quite normal 77 years! Does that make sense? Not quite: how then he became a father at… 11 years old, and Enoch even earlier – at five? The debate continues… But where math is powerless, gerontology helps. – We can assume that in pre-flood times there were other geophysical conditions (radiation level, humidity, oxygen concentration in the atmosphere, temperature and so on), – says Alexander Khalyavkin. – It is quite possible that these activating conditions and the lifestyle dictated by them allowed Methuselah to live up to 969 years, that is, to live about 10 times longer than modern people. Potential possibility for this, by the way, there is: remember the stem cells in adults, renewing their organs and tissues – under certain conditions, they are capable of indefinitely long existence. It turns out that long-livers have the answers to all questions? Experts interviewed by “Ogonyok” are unanimous: this is only part of the truth. And the paradox of modern gerontological research is just the opposite and is formulated in the simplest possible way: the aging process is better studied on younger people – and it should start as early as possible, from the age of twenty at least. Source: Kommersant (By Kirill Zhurenkov, Elena Pushkarskaya).