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Einstein Launches SuperAgers.com to
spotlight aging research, focus on
successful aging
November 1, 2010 – (BRONX, NY) –Albert
Einstein College of Medicine of
Yeshiva University has launchedSuperAgers.com,
a new website that features the latest
information on more than a decade of aging
research at Einstein.
The SuperAgers.com website
highlights the work of Nir
Barzilai, M.D., director of the
Institute for Aging Research and a team of
researchers, coordinators and volunteers
who, in 1998, began a study of healthy
elderly between the ages of 95 and 112 years
old.
The group was enrolled in a study called the Longevity
Genes Project. That research has grown
into the LonGenity
research study, which focuses on
examining the genes of the very old. To
date, the LonGenity research team has
enrolled more than 500 centenarians and
near-centenarians, and more than 700 of
their children.
SuperAgers.com features
video profiles of remarkable centenarians
and near-centenarians who are taking part in
the study, including 96-year-old Lilly Port
who continues to travel the world;
104-year-old Irving Kahn, who works every
day managing assets at his $700 million
investment firm; 103-year-old Irma Daniel,
who exercises and maintains an active social
life; and 98-year-old Harold Laufman, a
talented artist, musician and retired
surgeon.
"The goal of the Longevity Genes Project is
to understand how centenarians live so
long," said Dr. Barzilai. "What is it in
their genetic makeup that allows them to get
to this age and remain healthy?"
The research is beginning to unlock the
genetic code for longevity and identify the
unique genotypes and phenotypes that protect
against age-related diseases. Among the
findings to date:
·
the identification of at least three genes
thought to promote longevity;
·
evidence that longevity is highly likely to
be inherited from generation to generation;
and
·
the finding that those with exceptional
longevity are more likely to have
significantly elevated levels of HDL or
"good" cholesterol.
The combination of these factors is believed
to play a key role in the ability of these
"super agers" to avoid cardiovascular
disease, insulin resistance and high blood
pressure.
As the study continues, Einstein researchers
are hoping to better understand how
protective or harmful genes are activated,
or "turned on" or "turned off." This could
lead to drug therapies that regulate gene
expression and help people live longer,
healthier lives by mimicking the beneficial
effects of longevity genes.
###
Visit SuperAgers.com for
more information on the Longevity Genes
Project, profiles of the "super agers," the
latest updates on advances in aging-related
research at Einstein and links to additional
resources and research information.
The website is a project of the Einstein Department
of Communications and Public Affairs and
the Einstein
Institute for Aging Research led
by endocrinologist Dr. Nir Barzilai, who is
director of the Nathan
Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic
Biology of Aging and
the Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert Chair of
Aging Research at Einstein.
About Albert Einstein College of Medicine of
Yeshiva University
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of
Yeshiva University is
one of the nation's premier centers for
research, medical education and clinical
investigation.
During the 2009-2010 academic year, Einstein
is home to 722M.D. students,
243 Ph.D. students,
128 students in the combined
M.D./Ph.D. program, and approximately
350 postdoctoral
research fellows. The College of
Medicine has 2,775 fulltime faculty members
located on the main campus and at its clinical
affiliates.
In 2009, Einstein received more than $155
million in support from the NIH. This
includes the funding of major research
centers at Einstein in
diabetes, cancer, liver disease, and AIDS.
Other areas where the College of Medicine is
concentrating its efforts include
developmental brain research, neuroscience,
cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce
and eliminate ethnic and racial health
disparities.
Through its extensive affiliation network
involving five medical centers in the Bronx,
Manhattan and Long Island - which includes Montefiore
Medical Center, The University Hospital
and Academic Medical Center for Einstein -
the College of Medicine runs one of the
largest post-graduate medical training
programs in the United States, offering
approximately 150 residency programs to more
than 2,500 physicians in training.
For more information, please visit
www.einstein.yu.edu
