Updates in Pathobiology: Causality and Chance in Ageing, Age-Related Diseases and Longevity

The relationship between causality and chance is an open discussion in many disciplines. Often, the boundary among these events is thin to understand if an occurrence is related to one or to both. In particular, ageing, the related diseases, and longevity are difficult to define as consequence of causality, chance or both

Mediterranean Diet as a tool for achieving successful ageing

Targeted interventions to slow or postpone ageing and to favour an active life expectancy represent the new perspectives in ageing investigation. Some mechanisms that delay or prevent the onset of ageing disabilities and pathologies have been identified. In general, maintaining a healthy lifestyle seems to reduce many risk factors. In particular, eating habits represent the most concrete and low-cost method to address ageing. Of all dietary habits analysed, the Mediterranean diet has received much attention since it has consistently proven its beneficial influence on health and longevity. The Mediterranean diet is characterized by low glycaemic index and low animal protein intake, it is rich in nutraceuticals and functional foods thus reducing molecular pathways signalling, as nutrient sensitive pathways which affect the ageing process and lead to unhealthy ageing. This dietary model can be promoted as an “anti-ageing therapy” and can contribute to good health status and therefore to a better quality of life

What olive oil for healthy ageing

The olive tree originated in Asia Minor around 6000 years ago and then spread to all the Mediterranean basin. Olive oil is extracted from the pulp of its fruits [1–3]. Many studies show that the nutritional pattern of the so-called Mediterranean Diet is associated with a lower incidence of age-related diseases related to inflammation and oxidative stress, such as cardiovascular disease, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and cancer [4–7]. It is now clear that olive oil, as a main source of fat, must play a key role in explaining the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

Longevity hotspot in Sicily. The exploration of a new possible blu zone

We are conducting a survey in some mountainous Sicilian populations, particularly in villages sited in the Palermo province, part of the Madonie Park. To ascertain the true longevity rate, we checked the born and death registers, analyzing about 37,000 newborns between 1881 and 1917 in a sample of five small municipalities located in Madonie. About 1,700 individuals died at the age of 90 years and over, and about one hundred were centenarians. Therefore, the probability to reach 90 and 100 years old was of 4.6% and 0.22% respectively. Accordingly, we observed significant lower mortality rates for all causes of death when compared to those measured in Palermo town. Therefore, the population of these municipalities is experiencing a higher longevity as compared to other places in Sicily and in Italy. Considering the healthy conditions of the population and the low rate of mortality, a total of 42 (14 males and 28 females) long-living individuals (LLIs) (≥ 90 years, mean age 97) were recruited between Madonie municipalities and Palermo city. A group of trained nutritionists administered a questionnaire to collect demographic data, cognitive and health status, clinical anamnesis, eating habits, and drug use, and the history of major age-related diseases were accurately reported. Regarding the social and psychological aspects, 35 of 42 analysed subjects lived with their offspring or with spouse. Only 4 lived in retirement home and 3 with in-home nurse. The Geriatric Depression Scale was administered to 27/42 subjects with medium score of 5.44 (not depressed). The Mini Mental State was administered to 33/39 LLIs with medium score of 19.26 (cognitive impairment from moderate to mild). Most of LLIs attended few years of primary school and 6 had a high school (and University) education. About the life-style, the ex-smokers were 9/42 and the alcohol consumption was limited, in few cases, to red/white wine. Concerning the eating habits, nobody consumed red meat more than once a week, whereas almost all consumed plant foods several times a week. This study represents a picture of longevity in Sicily with the limitation of the small sample size. So, further recruitment and demographic studies are needed to validate the Blue Zone and the possible explanation of the extreme longevity

Can Alzheimer disease be a form of type 3 diabetes?

Alzheimer disease (AD) and metabolic syndrome are two highly prevalent pathological conditions of Western society due to incorrect diet, lifestyle, and vascular risk factors. Recent data have suggested metabolic syndrome as an independent risk factor for AD and pre-AD syndrome. Furthermore, biological plausibility for this relationship has been framed within the “metabolic cognitive syndrome” concept. Due to the increasing aging of populations, prevalence of AD in Western industrialized countries will rise in the near future. Thus, new knowledge in the area of molecular biology and epigenetics will probably help to make an early molecular diagnosis of dementia. An association between metabolic syndrome and specific single-nucleotide polylmorphisms (SNPs) in the gene INPPL1, encoding for SHIP2, a SH2 domain-containing inositol 5-phosphatase involved in insulin signaling, has been described. According to recent data suggesting that Type 2 diabetes represents an independent risk factor for AD and pre-AD, preliminary results of a case–control study performed to test the putative association between three SNPs in the SHIP2 gene and AD show a trend toward association of these SNPs with AD

Lessons from Sicilian Centenarians for Anti-Ageing Medicine. The Oxi-Inflammatory Status

Population ageing is a great achievement of humanity, but it also represents a challenge that the Western world is currently facing, as ageing is associated with increased susceptibility to age-related inflammatory diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to fully understand the mechanisms of healthy ageing to prevent the harmful aspects of ageing. The study of long living individuals (LLIs) is a great model for trying to achieve this goal. Accordingly, the oxy-inflammatory status of Sicilian LLIs was reviewed in the present paper. Based on the reported data, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress strategies have been discussed, useful for delaying or avoiding the onset of age-related diseases, thus favouring a healthy ageing process