Ideal lipid profile and genes for an extended life span.

Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW:

The world population is aging and a rapid increase is being seen in the very elderly (aged >80 years). Cholesterol levels in general rise with age and high cholesterol has been associated with extreme longevity. The relationship between lipids and cardiovascular events in the extreme elderly is unclear.

RECENT FINDINGS:

A number of genetic factors associated with lipid metabolism have also been described as having potential antiaging roles, including the genes encoding lipoprotein-associated factors - apolipoprotein E and cholesterol ester transfer protein; adipose tissue metabolism - adiponectin, leptin, glycaemia; and blood pressure - angiotensinogen. Clinical trials of lipid-lowering therapies have recruited subgroups of moderately elderly patients, but only the Prospective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER) trial specifically recruited an elderly population. There is no direct equivalent of the Hypertension in the Very Elderly trial (HYVET) study of antihypertensive patients in the extreme elderly. No heterogeneity has been seen with the effects of statin therapy in the elderly compared with younger age groups on classical cardiovascular endpoints of coronary heart disease and stroke.

SUMMARY:

The optimal cholesterol target, long-term tolerability and the specific effects of statins on other vascular-associated diseases of aging, for example arterial aneurysms, microvascular renal and cerebral disease (dementias), remain to be determined.

• Authors: Genovefa Kolovou, Vana Kolovou, Ioannis Vasiliadis, Anthony S Wierzbicki, Dimitri P Mikhailidis
• Journal: Current opinion in cardiology (Curr Opin Cardiol) Vol. 26 Issue 4 Pg. 348-55 (Jul 2011) ISSN: 1531-7080 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 21478743 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors
• Lipids
• Lipoproteins

Topics

• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Aging
• Cardiovascular Diseases (epidemiology, prevention & control)
• Female
• Humans
• Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors (pharmacology)
• Hyperlipidemias (drug therapy)
• Lipid Metabolism (drug effects, genetics)
• Lipids (blood)
• Lipoproteins (genetics)
• Longevity (genetics, physiology)
• Male
• Meta-Analysis as Topic
• Polymorphism, Genetic