SENS3: Stephen Coles on the Secrets of the Oldest Old

Slide 1.

“Secrets of theOldest Old”

by

L. Stephen Coles, M.D., Ph.D., Director Supercentenarian Research Foundation

664 West Arbor Vitae Street, Suite 1Inglewood, CA 90301-3160; USA

E-mail’s: [email protected]; [email protected]; URL’s: www.grg.org; www.supercentenarian-research-foundation.org;

Thursday, September 6, 2007; [3:35 – 3:50] PM GMT

SENS-3 Conference; Cambridge; UKSeptember 6, 2007 Secrets of the Oldest Old

Slide 2.September 6, 2007 Secrets of the Oldest Old

Who is a Supercentenarian?• While a Centenarian is anyone age 100 years or older,

(Only 1 in 10,000 persons makes it into this category)• A Supercentenarian is anyone age 110 years or older

(And only 1 in 5 million persons makes it into this category)• As of today (September 6th), there are 75 Validated Living

Supercentenarians World Wide (US:nonUS = 31:44) (Female:Male = 69:6)

• Oldest documented Supercentenarian in history was French woman Madame Jeanne-Louise Calment, who died in 1997 at 122 years, 164 days

• Once you were to make it to becoming a Supercentenarian, the chances of living even one more year is like flipping a coin(H:T = 50-50)!

• Therefore, these individuals are a very precious resource for humanity, and we need to act quickly else whatever they have to teach us will be gone forever

Slide 3.

Two British Living Supercentenarians

• Flore Baldwin, 111 W F• Henry Allingham, 111 W M

September 6, 2007 Secrets of the Oldest Old

Slide 4.

Mortality Rates for Supercentenarians


Slide 5.

Mortality Rates for Supercentenarians



How Can Supercentenarians Help Us To Live Longer and Healthier Lives?

• Compression of Morbidity that will lead to a healthier life in one’s later years (present company excepted)

• Gene Discovery Program• Stem-Cell Advances • New pharmaceutical interventions with

obvious commercial implications


Why Do Supercentenarians Live So Long?• The most likely cause of death of Supercentenarians is

called Senile Cardiac TTR-Amyloidosis (Diagnosis by Autopsy [4 of 8 in all of history] and not by what is written on Death Certificates)

• Finding: We recognize that longevity is inherited (1st degree relatives also live a long time); BTW, Supercentenarians have practically nothing else in common, regardless of what they tell us is their self-attributed “Secret” to long life

• Conclusion: The answer to longevity must lie in our genes

• Corollary: Doing a simple DNA Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) analysis is expected to uncover a large number of “longevity” genes that determine human life expectancy and maximum lifespan

Slide 8.

CNN –TV on SRF (December 19, 2006; 8:39 AM PST;

TRT = ~3 min.)



Slide 10.

George Francis, 111 yo of Sacramento, CA with his Daughters: Veronica and Shirley



Pvt. George H. Johnson, 112 yo,was the Oldest Person in California at the time he died.

{Mother, 111, 110, 110, 112, Coles + Brian Johnson, Great Nephew}

Slide 12.

Mr. W.S., 106 yo,was the Third Oldest Person in California at the time he died.


Slide 13.

Palo Alto VA Hospital Preliminary Necropsy Diagnosis

W.S., Date Died: 07/10/07; Prosector: Mathew Anderson, M.D., Ph.D.Date of Autopsy: 07/16/07; Permit: Full; Report: 07 A-58

1. Atherosclerosis, Generalized ModerateA. Left anterior descending artery with [60- 70] percent calcific stenosisB. Right coronary artery with mild calcific plaqueC. Moderate aortic atherosclerosisD. Renal cortical scarring, bilateral, mild

2. Urinary Bladder with Intraluminal Blood Clot (Hx of UTI)3. Bilateral Pleural Effusions (300 cc)4. Concentric Left Ventricular Hypertrophy



Microscopic Inspection

Slide 25.

Pituitary


Slide 26.

Thyroid


Slide 27.

Heart (Myocytes)


Slide 28.

Kidney GlomeruliArtery Intimal Thickening


Slide 29.

Lung Alveoli


Slide 30.

Bone Marrow


Slide 31.

Liver


Slide 32.

Testicle(with Sperm Present!)



Acknowledgements:

• Palo Alto Veteran’s Administration Hospital (PAVA)Dr. Robert Rouse, M.D., Chief of ServiceDr. Jon Kosek, M.D., Deputy Chief of ServiceProf. Robert B. West, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Pathology;

Sanford University School of MedicineDr. Mathew Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Resident

• Department of Pathology and Laboratory MedicineUCLA David Geffen School of Medicine Prof. Michael C. Fishbein, M.D., Chief-of-ServiceProf. Harry V. Vinters, M.D., Chief of Neuropathology


Supercentenarian Research Foundation

(SRF)


What is the SRF?• A non-profit research foundation that seeks to

exploit the knowledge that will be acquired from discovering:– Why Supercentenarians live as long as they do?

(How do they escape from chronic diseases, like Heart Disease, Cancer, Stroke, Diabetes, and Alzheimer’s Disease, which are the top diagnoses written today on Death Certificates in the US and limit the average life expectancy of older Americans?)

– Why they don’t live longer than they do? (TTR Amyloidosis could be the Grim Reaper waiting in the wings for everyone, unless we figure out what to do about it first)


SRF PROGRESS

• What has the SRF already accomplished?• What does the SRF propose to do next?• What is the long-term significance of our

success?• What are our next steps?


SRF Accomplishments• Through the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) at UCLA, the

SRF has accumulated 8 years of historical data regarding all validated Supercentenarians

• The GRG database is one of the most respected sources of reliable information regarding Supercentenarians and is routinely used as the premier source for yearly articles in The Guinness Book of Records of London. Reuters, AP, and UPI wire services now considers the GRG to be the world authority on the demographics of longevity

• Our SRF Website is posted at http://www.supercentenarian-research-foundation.org

• Foundation was incorporated in Harrisburg, PA; Sacramento, CA• 501(c)(3) IRS Form 1023 Tax Exempt Status• Raised $150,000 in charitable donations for our start-up expenses• Established a Scientific Advisory Board consisting of 38 members

including many of the world-recognized experts in aging research


Future PlansQ: What does the SRF plan to do next?

A: First Project [for 2007]: Tissue Sampling of all known Supercentenarians world wide whose next-of-kin are willing to sign our Informed Consent (in their native language giving us ownership of all specimens) and their first-degree relatives agree to serve as controls…– DNA SNP analysis in the lab– This will establish an invaluable database and tissue bank for

researchers world wide of materials that would otherwise be lostforever

– Later, the information generated by this database may result in insights and products that could improve the quality of life andlongevity of everyone


Long-Term Significance

Q: Why it matters to history?

A: Potentially, this could be the most important scientific breakthrough in the history of our human species (~200,000 years)


Next Steps?

Together we can unlock the secrets to a higher quality life, longevity, and health

Please consider joining and supporting the SRF and making healthy longevity a reality for everyone

Health & Medicine

SENS3: Stephen Coles on the Secrets of the Oldest Old