Centenarians and diet: what they eat in the Western part of Sicily.

This paper pays attention to the modifiable lifestyle factors such as diet and nutrition that might influence life extension and successful ageing. Previous data reported that in Sicily, the biggest Mediterranean island, there are some places where there is a high frequency of male centenarians with respect to the Italian average. The present data show that in Sicani Mountain zone there are more centenarians with respect to the Italian average. In fact, in five villages of Sicani Mountains, there were 19 people with an age range of 100-107 years old from a total population of 18,328 inhabitants. So, the centenarian number was 4.32-fold higher than the national average (10.37 vs. 2.4/10,000); the female/male ratio was 1.1:1 in the study area, while the national ratio is 4.54:1. Unequivocally, their nutritional assessment showed a high adherence to the Mediterranean nutritional profile with low glycemic index food consumed. To reach successful ageing it is advisable to follow a diet with low quantity of saturated fat and high amount of fruits and vegetables rich in phytochemicals

Possible role of ABO system in age-related diseases and longevity: a narrative review

ABO blood group antigens are expressed either on the surface of red blood cells either on a variety of other cells. Based on the available knowledge of the genes involved in their biosynthesis and their tissue distribution, their polymorphism has been suggested to provide intraspecies diversity allowing to cope with diverse and rapidly evolving pathogens. Accordingly, the different prevalence of ABO group genotypes among the populations has been demonstrated to be driven by malaria selection. In the similar manner, a particular ABO blood group may contribute to favour life-extension via biological mechanisms important for surviving or eluding serious disease. In this review, we will suggest the possible association of ABO group with age-related diseases and longevity taking into account the biological role of the ABO glycosyltransferases on some inflammatory mediators as adhesion molecule

Association between interleukin-10 polymorphisms and Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

It has been hypothesized that polymorphisms of interleukin (IL)-10 genes affect the risk of developing late onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, results of different studies are often inconsistent. Our aim was to investigate by meta-analysis the association of the common polymorphisms comprehensively defining the genetic variability of the IL-10 gene with AD risk. Fifteen studies investigating the association between IL-10 polymorphisms (-1082,-819,-592) and AD were found and analyzed. The model-free approach was applied to meta-analyze these case-control genetic association studies. Available data suggested an association between-1082 polymorphism and AD risk with a marginal statistical significance (GG versus AG/AA: pooled odds ratio [OR]: 0.82, 95% confidence interval CI: 0.65-1.02) and evidence of a moderate degree of between-study heterogeneity (χ 2 = 27.13, d.f. = 13, p = 0.01, I 2 = 52%). For the-819 and-592 polymorphisms, we did not find an association with AD, but significant between-study heterogeneity made genotype data pooling unacceptable. Analysis by IL-10 haplotype showed that the-1082G/-819C/-592C haplotype is associated with a lower risk of AD, although with a marginal statistical significance, probably due to the low number of studies included (GCC versus other genotypes: OR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.32-1.15; I 2: 85%). Current findings suggest a possible association between-1082 A > G polymorphism and the risk of developing AD; this effect is more evident in the oldest patients. The high degree of between-study heterogeneity, due to several underpowered studies and to other methodological problems of individual studies underlies the need for further methodologically adequate studies. © 2012-IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved

Blood group does not appear to affect longevity a pilot study in centenarians from Western Sicily

Centenarians are the best example of extreme human longevity, and they represent a selected population in which the appearance of major age-related diseases, such as cancer, and cardiovascular diseases among others, has been consistently delayed or escaped. The study of the long-lived individual genetic profile has the purpose to possibly identify the genes and the allelic variations influencing extended life expectancy, hence considering them as biomarkers of age-related diseases onset and development. The present study shows no significant differences between allelic variations of ABO blood groups among a group of centenarians from Western Sicily

Obesity and Breast Cancer: Molecular Interconnections and Potential Clinical Applications

Obesity is an important risk factor for breast cancer (BC) in postmenopausal women; interlinked molecular mechanisms might be involved in the pathogenesis. Increased levels of estrogens due to aromatization of the adipose tissue, inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and prostaglandin E2, insulin resistance and hyperactivation of insulin-like growth factors pathways, adipokines, and oxidative stress are all abnormally regulated in obese women and contribute to cancerogenesis. These molecular factors interfere with intracellular signaling in the mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphatydilinositol-3-phosphate/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathways, which regulate the progression of the cell cycle, apoptosis, and protein synthesis. In this context, structural defects of typical genes related to both BC and obesity, such as leptin, leptin receptor, serum paraoxonase/arylesterase 1, the fat mass and obesity-associated gene and melanocortin receptor 4, have been associated with a high or low risk of BC development. The early detection of these gene alterations might be useful as risk predictors in obese women, and targeting these pathways involved in the BC pathogenesis in obese women is a potential therapeutic tool. In particular, mTOR pathway deregulation concurs in both obesity and BC, and inhibition of this might disrupt the molecular interlinks in a similar manner to that of metformin, which exerts definite anticancer activity and is currently used as an antidiabetic drug with a weight-reducing property. The identification of both genetic and pharmacological implications on the prevention and management of BC is the ultimate aim of these studies

Effect of Different Environmental Conditions on Some Haematological Parameters in Cow

Abstract The aim of this study was to establish physiological responses of Piemontese cows to different environmental conditions (ambient temperature, relative humidity and temperature-humidity index). To this end, 43 clinically healthy Piemontese cows aged 2-12 years were used to evaluate the effect of environmental conditions on haematological parameters. For each period, ambient temperature and relative humidity were recorded by means of a data logger and the temperature-humidity index (THI) was calculated as indicator of thermal comfort for cattle. Blood samples were collected at 4 time points under different environmental conditions (T1, T2, T3 and T4) and analysed for haematological parameters. One way repeated measure analysis of variance showed a statistically significant effect of time (P<0.0001) on RBC, Hb, Hct, MCV, MCH, MCHC, Plt, WBC, neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes and eosinophils. The majority of haematological values obtained in the present study, even though within the physiological range for cattle, showed that variations in haematological parameters are related to changes in ambient temperature, relative humidity and temperature-humidity index. These results provide insight into the physiological responses of Piemontese cows to different environmental conditions, allowing to better evaluate its ability to adapt and cope with environmental stress