The 115-year-old woman, whose identity has been kept secret and is referred to as W115, was the oldest woman in the world at the time of her death. She donated her body to science and her genome has been sequenced to study longevity. At post-mortem examination she showed absolutely no signs of dementia or heart disease and was said to have the mind of someone decades younger. She did not even live in a care home until the age of 105. The study is still in its early stages but suggests that she had genes that protected against dementia and Alzheimer's. Dr Henne Holstege, of the Department of Clinical Genetics at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, says she appeared to have some rare genetic changes in her DNA. The gene variations she showed were variants known to be linked to atherosclerosis, heart disease, Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease. Although the DNA of many more people at old ages would have to be sequenced to fully understand the underlying genetic principles, many admit that this is a good start to understanding the genes that control dementia and aging.
Friday, December 2, 2011
DNA of 115-Year-Old-Woman Sequenced
The 115-year-old woman, whose identity has been kept secret and is referred to as W115, was the oldest woman in the world at the time of her death. She donated her body to science and her genome has been sequenced to study longevity. At post-mortem examination she showed absolutely no signs of dementia or heart disease and was said to have the mind of someone decades younger. She did not even live in a care home until the age of 105. The study is still in its early stages but suggests that she had genes that protected against dementia and Alzheimer's. Dr Henne Holstege, of the Department of Clinical Genetics at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, says she appeared to have some rare genetic changes in her DNA. The gene variations she showed were variants known to be linked to atherosclerosis, heart disease, Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease. Although the DNA of many more people at old ages would have to be sequenced to fully understand the underlying genetic principles, many admit that this is a good start to understanding the genes that control dementia and aging.
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I find this remarkable, it's so exciting to see how innovations such as genome sequencing can potentially help the medical field in finding new methods to cope with diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and potentially find ways to prevent them as well.
ReplyDeleteI think this is very interesting that someone can live for so long and not have any signs of heart disease or Alzheimer's and that she was so capable for someone her age
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty interesting. Although it is known that some people have are hardwired with immunity to certain diseases, I didn't think that a protection against dementia and alzheimer's could lead to an overall increased longevity.
ReplyDeleteThis sort of reminds me of the study that was done on Ozzy Osbourne last year, in which it was determined that he has genetic mutations that allow him to withstand more drug (ab)use than most other people (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/genetic-mutations-ozzy-osbourne-party-hard/story?id=12032552#.TuWLK2Mk6so).
ReplyDeleteAlso, dementia and aging research seem to be on the rise; I guess everyone wants to know the secrets that would allow them to live long lives.