Yeshiva大學(xué)Albert Einstein醫(yī)學(xué)院研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)一種使人長壽的突變基因——CETP VV，還可以幫助老年人清晰思路,，保持記憶。研究結(jié)果刊登于12月26日《Neurology》雜志,。
由Einstein醫(yī)學(xué)院老齡化研究所Nir Barzilai博士率領(lǐng)的研究小組,，對158名95歲及以上的東歐猶太血統(tǒng)老年人和先前證實沒有此突變基因的老年人進行標(biāo)準(zhǔn)認(rèn)知功能測試，發(fā)現(xiàn)腦功能很好的老年人中,，有此突變基因的老年人是沒有此突變基因的老年人的二倍,。
接下來，研究人員在124名年齡在75－85歲的猶太血統(tǒng)老年志愿者中驗證,，發(fā)現(xiàn)非癡呆老年人中,，具有此突變基因的老年人數(shù)量是未有此突變基因老年人數(shù)量的5倍。
Barzilai博士及其同事先前發(fā)現(xiàn)CETP VV有助于延年益壽,，并且能夠世代傳遞,。“好”的高密度脂蛋白和“壞”的低密度脂蛋白會聚集為脂蛋白顆粒（lipoprotein particles），膽甾醇酯蛋白影響顆粒大小,。CETP VV突變改變了膽甾醇酯蛋白,。百歲老人中，具有CETP VV的人數(shù)占75％,，而且攜帶CETP VV的老年人明顯具有較大的脂蛋白顆粒,。
研究人員認(rèn)為比較大的脂蛋白顆粒很難在血管中停留。因此,，攜帶CETP VV的人群（能夠產(chǎn)生較大脂蛋白顆粒）發(fā)生心臟病和中風(fēng)的機率很小,，似乎能夠解釋他們非同尋常長壽的原因,。
新研究結(jié)果提示CETP VV不僅能夠延年益壽，還能夠保護大腦認(rèn)知功能的完整性,。CETP VV或者經(jīng)過抗血管堵塞（"anti-clogging"）預(yù)防心臟病發(fā)作和中風(fēng),，或者經(jīng)過一種尚未發(fā)現(xiàn)的獨立的保護機制。
“大腦功能不良,，活到100歲也并不是一件幸事,，”Barzilai博士說，“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)能夠幫助延年益壽的同一種基因突變還有助于這些老年人清晰思路,。”CETP VV很可能是防止阿爾茨海莫氏癥發(fā)生的原因,。對這些百歲老人研究，也許可以找到他們抵制這些在其他老年人中常見的疾病,，為預(yù)防/治療年齡相關(guān)疾病提供線索,。
英文原文：
Gene tied to longevity also preserves ability to think clearly
December 25, 2006 -- (Bronx, NY) -- A gene variant linked to living a very long life--to 90 and beyond--also serves to help very old people think clearly and retain their memories, according to new research by scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Their findings are published in the December 26, 2006 issue of Neurology.
Led by Dr. Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Aging Research at Einstein, the researchers examined 158 people of Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish descent who were 95 or older. Compared with elderly subjects lacking the gene variant, those who possessed it were twice as likely to have good brain function based on a standard test of cognitive function.
Later the researchers validated their findings independently in a younger group of 124 Ashkenazi Jews between the ages of 75 and 85 who were enrolled in the Einstein Aging Study led by Dr. Richard Lipton. Within this group, those who did not develop dementia at follow up were five times more likely to have the favorable genotype than those who developed dementia.
Dr. Barzilai and his colleagues had previously shown that this gene variant helps people live exceptionally long lives and apparently can be passed from one generation to the next. Known as CETP VV, the gene variant alters the Cholesterol Ester Protein. This protein affects the size of "good" HDL and "bad" LDL cholesterol, which are packaged into lipoprotein particles. Centenarians were three times likelier to possess CETP VV compared with a control group representative of the general population and also had significantly larger HDL and LDL lipoproteins than people in the control group.
Researchers believe that larger cholesterol particles are less likely to lodge themselves in blood vessels. So people with the CETP VV gene (and the larger cholesterol particles they produce) run a lower risk of heart attacks and strokes, which may explain their unusual longevity.
The findings of this new study suggest that CETP VV also protects the cognitive integrity of the brain--either through the same vascular "anti-clogging" benefit that prevents heart attacks and strokes or through an independent protective mechanism that remains to be found.
"Without good brain function, living to age 100 is not an attractive proposition," says Dr. Barzilai. "We've shown that the same gene variant that helps people live to exceptional ages has the added benefit of helping them think clearly for most of their long lives. It's possible that CETP VV's cognitive effect is to protect against the development of Alzheimer's disease. In studying these centenarians, we hope to learn why they're able to resist diseases that affect the general population at a much younger age. This knowledge should greatly aid our efforts to prevent or delay the onset of age-related diseases."
