Glucose regulation and oxidative stress in healthy centenarians

• Published in: Experimental gerontology Vol. 38; no. 1; pp. 137 - 143
• Main Authors: Barbieri, Michelangela, Rizzo, Maria Rosaria, Manzella, Daniela, Grella, Rodolfo, Ragno, Emilia, Carbonella, Marco, Abbatecola, Angela Marie, Paolisso, Giuseppe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Inc 2003
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging - physiology; Genotype; Glucose - metabolism; Humans; Insulin - genetics; Insulin - metabolism; Insulin gene; Insulin Resistance; Longevity; Oxidative Stress; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase - genetics; Oxidative stress; Insulin resistance; Longevity; Insulin gene
• ISSN: 0531-5565; 1873-6815
• DOI: 10.1016/S0531-5565(02)00153-5

Aging, oxidative stress and insulin resistance are strongly correlated. There is a growing body of evidence showing that aging is associated with a significant rise in oxidative stress mainly due to a decline in anti-oxidant activity and a rise in pro-oxidant factors such as glucose and insulin concentrations. Furthermore, aging is also associated with a progressive rise in insulin resistance which is due to a complex network of environmental, anthropometric and neuro-hormonal factors. It is noteworthy that extreme longevity, e.g. centenarians, is associated with a low degree of oxidative stress and insulin resistance. The causes for such differences between aged subjects and centenarians is not fully understood. It is likely that a specific genetic background might play a role. However, the insulin gene does not seem to be involved for explaining such age-related differences.