Before research into methods of intervening in aging are conducted, diagnosis of the causes and effects of aging as exhibited in supercentenarians will be studied in order to determine 1) why they live longer than most, and 2) what limits their life span. Consideration will be given to all reasonable theories of aging to answer these questions, but none will be adopted a priori. Tissues and cells will be analyzed to resolve which of these theories may be relevant to the effects observed. Supercentenarians are especially germane for this research because the confounding effects of age-related diseases are expected to have been reduced in this group by natural selection. Thus in addition to obtaining more autopsies to determine the cause of death of supercentenarians, "autopsies" of the aging process itself will be undertaken to elucidate which cellular alterations have resulted from aging. Genetic and other studies will attempt to deal with the small number of individuals available for study by: 1) emulation of searches for rare genetic diseases, 2) examination for candidate longevity-associated genetic polymorphisms identified by other studies, 3) comparison of the extreme old with an expanded cohort of younger individuals, 4) familial analysis, and 5) allocation of funds to identify and validate more supercentenarians.
Following the diagnostic phase, research will be supported in an intervention phase to attempt to prevent, ameliorate, and reverse the causes and effects of aging.
Before contributions can be sought, a comprehensive Scientific Plan
must first be developed with the participation of leading
gerontologists. This plan will then be presented to potential donors to
request their financial support. Our vision is that the
Supercentenarian Research Foundation will become a significant source
of grants for aging research.
Key words:
supercentenarians, autopsies, aging, funding
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