Why some people live to 100: the Swiss have found the answer in blood

Scientists from the Universities of Geneva and Lausanne have studied how the blood of people who live to be 100 years old differs from that of "ordinary" elderly people. The work was done as part of the Swiss project SWISS100 - the first major study on centenarians.

The researchers compared three groups: 39 centenarians (100-105 years old, most of them women), 59 people around 80 years old, and 40 volunteers 30-60 years old. They then measured hundreds of serum proteins linked to inflammation and heart and blood vessel function.

The main finding: the centenarians were found to have a group of 37 proteins for which their "profile" was closer to that of younger people than to that of the 80-year-olds. This was particularly noticeable for proteins associated with oxidative stress, a condition that has been linked to aging and cell damage.

In addition, among the "winning" markers in centenarians were proteins associated with extracellular matrix(conventionally, the "framework/cement" of tissues), as well as with fat and sugar metabolism and potential protection against tumourigenesis. The authors find that centenarians do not "avoid ageing completely", but some key mechanisms seem to be slowed down in them.

The scientists emphasise: such results may help to better understand the biology of longevity and potentially suggest new approaches to maintaining health in older age.