"Longevity Gene" Extends Human Life Span

In a recent discovery scientists claim that they have found a new gene that is firmly linked to ageing and longevity. The "long life gene", called FOXO3A, could add some more years to human life span, claims a team of US and Japanese scientists headed by Bradley Willcox of the Pacific Health Research Institute and the University of Hawaii in Honolulu.

The study says that the men with two copies of FOXO3A gene, which is linked with better health and a longer life, are likely to live longer, healthier lives than those without it.

Although the similar longevity gene is known to prolong life span in other species, this is the first time it has been linked directly to longevity in humans.

The findings from the Hawaii Lifespan Study, published in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that FOXO genesdefine are present in four forms in humans but its form FOXO3A is being associated with better health and longevity. This form is associated with insulindefine regulating proteins and helps with maintaining a balanced metabolism, the researchers said.

To reach their findings, Drs Bradley Willcox, Tim Donlon, David Curb and colleagues at the Kuakini Medical Centre, Honolulu, and colleagues in Japan analyzed the biological samples of more than 8000 people in Hawaii who have had periodic health exams since the mid 1960s.

“We screened 213 of the long-lived participants' DNA and 402 of the average lived focusing on five genes in the insulin pathway,” said Dr Willcox. His team then screened the men's DNA, focusing on five genes in the insulin-pathway.

“We calculated how the DNA bases found at three locations of each gene were correlated with health criteria including chronic diseases, disability and insulin levels. What we found was very surprising and exciting,” he added.

The researchers discovered that most of the long-lived men - those who eventually reached an average age of 98 years - had the same version of the FOXO3A gene. They found that men with longevity gene in one chromosome were twice likely to reach between 98-106 years and those having such gene on both chromosomes had thrice the chance of reaching that age group.

Moreover, the men with the long-lived version of the gene also were less likely to develop cancerdefine and cardiovascular disease, and reported high physical and intellectual abilities and better over-all health than those without this variation.