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WEDNESDAY, June 21 (HealthDay News) -- Specific hormones may play a key role in longevity and healthy aging, two new studies suggest.
Researchers found one hormone, adiponectin, at higher-than-average concentrations in 100-year-old women, while another study found that stimulating the body's production of growth hormone brought a youthful pep back to people in their 60s to 80s.
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Both studies were presented Wednesday at the 6th International Congress of Neuroendocrinology, in Pittsburgh.
In the first study, Dr. Agnieszka Baranowska-Bik and colleagues from the University of Poland studied 133 women from 20 to 102 years of age, including 25 women who were 100 to 102 years old. The researchers were particularly interested in the women's levels of adiponectin.
Adiponectin is made by fat tissue and may be an important determinant of longevity. It is a peptide protein with anti-inflammatory properties that helps keep blood vessels clear of fatty deposits. Adinopectin also plays an important role in metabolism, particularly in the regulation of cholesterol and sugar.
Low levels of adiponectin may contribute to obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes or plaque deposits in the arteries. This combination of conditions is also called metabolic syndrome.
"We found significant differences in the centenarian women compared to other groups," Baranowska-Bik said. "We found that our centenarian women were healthier than the other women."
"The most important finding was that adiponectin levels were significantly higher in centenarian women," Baranowska-Bik added. "This may be connected with metabolic status and also with getting old and longevity."
The Polish team found that the "100-plus" group of women, in addition to having significantly higher levels of adiponectin, also had much lower levels of both insulin and the fat hormone leptin. They also scored better with respect to insulin resistance and total cholesterol.
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