Approved Research

Resilience to Diseases of Aging in the Descendants of Nonagenarians versus Controls

Lay summary

Descendants of long lived families have better health as they age than those who did not come from long lived ancestry. Our study aims to investigate whether there are genetic factors that protect descendants of nonagenarians, defined as people living >90 years, from common heart and blood vessel diseases, as well as Alzheimer's dementia, as compared to those who are not descendants of nonagenarians. What is not known is if descendants of nonagenarians have genetic factors that help to decrease their risk of common diseases of aging. In this project, lasting up to 36 months, we will learn about genetic protective factors to common diseases of aging. The public health impact of this research is that we may reveal new information that can help maintain heart and brain health as we age.