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Researchers from around the world have identified an area on Chromosome 4 that contains genes contributing to extraordinary life span. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the average human life expectancy is 76.7 years. In fact, one in 10,000 Americans has exceeded average life expectancy by 20 years

With these results, researchers hope further studies will determine how exactly the gene or genes promote longevity. They also hope their study and other similar studies will ultimately lead to drugs that mimic the effects of centenarians' genes and help deter the consequences of aging.

Researchers hypothesize centenarians, or people who surpass the average life expectancy by 20 years, age very slowly and either significantly delay age-related diseases or avoid them completely. Rather than using past research techniques that sought genes responsible for age-related diseases, researchers searched for genes associated with longevity.

Thomas Perls, M.D., a geriatrician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, says, "We're not trying to find the fountain of youth. If anything, we're trying to find the fountain of aging well."

After extracting blood from 137 sets of 2 or more siblings between the ages of 91 to 109 years, researchers searched the entire human genome to find any region the participants had in common. The researchers found Chromosome 4, which contains 100 to 500 genes, is the region in the DNA that is responsible for longevity as reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, (2001;98:10505-10508).

Information provided is courtesy of and compiled by the Academy of Anti-Aging Research.