After all of the studies conducted to determine the causes of age-related physical and mental deterioration, some researchers have decided to shift focus to a more heartening phenomenon: super-aging.
According to a CBS News story published in May, the term "super-ager" was coined by Dr. Nir Barzilai and his team of researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Dr. Barzilai, who is the director of the Institute of Aging Research at the facility, was reportedly studying members of a small Jewish community in the city who had lived more than 100 years and were still physically and mentally fit.
The source reports that the subjects of the study were all found to have a genetic variant known as CETP that has been linked to lower cholesterol levels and diminished occurrences of heart disease and dementia. Dr. Barzilai's research in this field has revealed that people who are 100 years old or older are two times more likely to carry this particular characteristic.
Dr. Barzilai's studies have continued in the form of his Longevity Genes Project, which involves the study of 500 individuals between the ages of 95 and 112 who are still in good health. The project is specifically focused on how certain genes contribute to a longer, healthier life, and how their qualities may be replicated through medical treatment.
"The identification of longevity genes by Einstein researchers could lead to new drug therapies that might help people live longer, healthier lives and avoid or significantly delay age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease," the project website explains.
U.S News and World Report states that there are currently 70,000 people in America over 100 years old, a figure that may grow to 600,000 within four decades. As such, delaying the onset of degenerative diseases is increasingly becoming a priority for medical researchers.