Correlation between serum retinol and alpha-tocopherol levels in centenarians.
Recent evidence indicates that longevity may be achieved when efficient defence mechanisms against oxidative stress, infections, neoplasia, and cardiovascular events are preserved. Centenarians represent an example of "successful aging," and the aim of this study was to evaluate serum levels of vitamins A and E, which represent two important nonenzymatic antioxidant defence systems, and their correlation in 16 healthy centenarians and two groups of control subjects. Centenarians showed normal values of retinol (450.9 +/- 240.3 ng/mL) and alpha-tocopherol (9220.2 +/- 3410.9 ng/mL). Moreover, a significant direct correlation between the two vitamins was observed in centenarians (Rho = 0.715, p = 0.0056), such as in younger control subjects (Rho = 0.618, p = 0.0168), but not in older control subjects. We assume that the preservation of normal values and the correlation between vitamin A and E concentrations protects centenarians against oxidative stress and contributes to their extreme longevity.
Chair of Geriatrics, Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy. gior.basile@tiscalinet.it
Giorgio
G
Basile
Sebastiano
S
Gangemi
Claudia
C
Lo Balbo
Antonella
A
Mento
Claudio
C
Nicita-Mauro
Giancarlo
G
Crisafulli
Rosaria A
RA
Merendino
Riccardo
R
Ientile
Vittorio
V
Nicita-Mauro
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood*; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000097:blood*
D000975:Antioxidants; D014801:Vitamin A; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol