You’re Looking Very Well

by Lewis Wolpert

  8. Extending

  ‘Every Man desires to live long; but no Man would be old’

  — Jonathan Swift

  How long can we, and should we, live? How to live for ever has been a compelling subject for a very long time. One of the earliest legends about immortality, and also one of the earliest written stories, is that of Gilgamesh, the Babylonian demigod, from around 2000 BC. When he aged and began to fear death, Gilgamesh was told that he could survive forever if only he could show that he could master sleep by not sleeping for seven days and nights. But try as he might, he failed to do this. The gods then told him that he could find a plant underwater that, if he ate it, would make him alone immortal. Gilgamesh found the plant, but was enjoying swimming so much that he left the plant on the shore while he continued swimming. A snake came along and ate the plant. The lesson to be learned was that ageing was unavoidable.

  The legends of the Greeks are filled with the adventures of the immortal gods and humans who seek immortality through their deeds, or through the acts of the gods. But there was also a more realistic attitude. The Greek philosopher Democritus criticised people for yearning for a long life, and argued that if they developed the right attitude to ageing and death they could live more peacefully. The Roman Lucretius thought it absurd not to recognise that a long life was insignificant compared to how long one remains dead. He also argued that death was essential to keep the population down.

  The ancients were all too aware of the dangers of immortality if the effects of ageing were ignored. This is illustrated by the story of Tithonus in Greek mythology, a story we should keep in mind when trying to extend life. Tithonus was the lover of the goddess of dawn, Aurora, and so good at what he did for her that she went to her father, the god of gods, Zeus, and asked if Tithonus could have eternal life. Zeus, being a doting father, immediately granted Tithonus immortality. The problem was that Aurora had failed to also ask for him to have eternal youth. With time the ageing process took its toll, and when Tithonus reached a hundred he had mild cognitive impairment and went around Aurora’s castle babbling incessantly:

  But when loathsome old age pressed full upon him, and he could not move nor lift his limbs, this seemed to her in her heart the best counsel: she laid him in a room and put to the shining doors. There he babbles endlessly, and no more has strength at all, such as once he had in his supple limbs.

  Aurora no longer loved him, and one day she turned him into a grasshopper, a cicada. Some claim that when today we hear the chirping of cicadas, it is just a group of old men babbling incessantly.

  Judaism and Christianity had very strong views about long life. The Bible is against immortality; Psalm 90, verse 10, sets the human lifespan at threescore and ten, though the possibility of 120 years is given in Genesis. When Adam and Eve had eaten fruit from the tree of knowledge, God said, ‘See! The man has become like one of us, knowing what is good and what is bad! Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life also, and thus eat of it and live forever.’ God banished them from the Garden of Eden and stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword to guard the way to the tree of life.

  Old age could be the reward for a moral life and an indication of God’s favour. ‘Follow the whole instruction the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live, prosper, and have a long life in the land you will possess.’ ‘Ye shall harken diligently unto my commandments that your days may be multiplied, and that of your children,’ says God in Deuteronomy. And in Proverbs: ‘The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.’

  There are, nevertheless, claims in the Bible for very very long lives: Adam lives for 930, Noah 950 and Methuselah 969 years. Methuselah was a Hebrew patriarch and the grandfather of Noah; not much is known about him other than his extraordinary lifespan. There is also a figure from medieval Christian folklore whose legend began to spread in Europe in the thirteenth century, the case of Ahasverus, a Jewish cobbler, who told Christ to move on when he was carrying his cross and needed help. Christ told him that he would move on, but condemned Ahasverus to wander the earth and for his clothes to remain intact till Christ returned. And every 10 years he would be rejuvenated. There were reports that this Wandering Jew had been identified in 1252 at the Abbey of St Albans, and then again in Hamburg in 1642.

  Many Indian fables and tales concern the ability to jump into another body—performed by advanced Yogis in order to live a longer life. There are also entire Hindu sects, the Naths and the Aghoras, devoted to the attainment of physical immortality by various methods. Long before modern science made such speculation unreasonable, people wishing to escape death turned to the supernatural world for answers. Examples include Chinese Taoists and the medieval alchemists and their search for the Philosopher’s Stone.

  Denial of ageing can be very common, and longevity myths have been around for as long as humanity. Many of these legends involve places where people are reputed to live long. While it is true that people in certain cultures do not suffer many chronic illnesses while ageing, the lifespans of people in these places are hard to verify. As the Guinness Book of World Records stated in numerous editions from the 1960s to 1980s, ‘No single subject is more obscured by vanity, deceit, falsehood, and deliberate fraud than the extremes of human longevity.’

  There were claims that Thomas Parr was the oldest man who ever lived, surviving till 152 years. He was said to have been born in 1483 near Shrewsbury. He did not marry until he was 80 years old and had two children, a son and a daughter, both of whom died in infancy. He attributed his long life to his vegetarian diet and moral temperance, although when he was around a hundred years old he allegedly had an affair, and a child born out of wedlock. As news of his age spread, ‘Old Parr’ became a national celebrity and was painted by Rubens and Van Dyke. In 1635 he was brought to London to meet Charles I. In London he was treated as a spectacle, but the change in food and environment apparently caused his death. Charles I arranged for him to be buried in Westminster Abbey in 1635. William Harvey, the physician who discovered the circulation of the blood, performed a post-mortem on Parr’s body. His autopsy suggested that Thomas Parr was under 70 years old.

  In around 1500, Alvise Cornaro, an Italian nobleman aged 40, was feeling very unwell, and was advised by his doctor ‘cut down on your riotous living, stop the drinking, cut out the rich food, eat as little as you can, and don’t abuse your body. You can get well.’ He wrote The Art of Living Long and argued that men and women were not destined to die at 60 or 70, but with care and a good constitution could live extremely long lives. The key to longevity lay in giving up excesses in all things, and he preached extreme moderation. He died aged 102.

  Legends about healing waters abound. People have always talked about, and hoped for, water that will restore youth and health. Herodotus, the Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC, provided much information concerning the nature of the world and the status of the sciences during his lifetime. He referred to a fountain containing a very special kind of water located in the land of the Ethiopians, and he attributed the exceptional longevity of the Ethiopians to this water. Tales of healing waters are also linked to Alexander the Great in his search for the Water of Life. Travelling almost to the edge of the world, Alexander finds a darkened country and travels in it with his servant Andreas. Alexander can’t find his way through the darkness, but his servant does. Andreas drinks of the Water of Life and becomes immortal.

  Another example that gave rise to the idea of a Fountain of Youth comes from the natives of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Cuba, who told the early Spanish explorers that in Bimini, a land to the north, there were waters that had such miraculous curative powers that any old person who bathed in them would regain his youth. Juan Ponce de Leon, who had been with Columbus on his second voyage in 1493, and who had later conquered and become governor of Puerto Rico, is supposed to have learned of the fable from the Indians. The fable was not
new, and probably Ponce de Leon was vaguely cognisant of the fact that such waters had been mentioned by medieval writers, and that Alexander the Great had searched for such waters in eastern Asia. Ponce de Leon, who had become wealthy in the colonial service, equipped three ships at his own expense and set out to find the mythical fountain that would restore his health and make him young again. What he found was not Bimini but Florida, and now many patients clearly believe he was successful, as during the winter months they eschew the care of their good doctors and flee south to Florida’s warmer climate.

  Myths about extreme old age persist into modern times. The Abkhasia are a people living in the Caucasus Mountains in southern Russia, a mountainous area near the Iranian border. They have a reputation for extremely long and healthy lives. In the 1960s and 1970s claims were made for lifespans of 150, marriages at 110 and fatherhood at 136. The greatest claim was that one man, Shirali Muslimov, was 168 years old when he died in 1873. The Soviets honoured him with a postage stamp. An official passport listed his birth date as 1805; Muslimov had no known birth certificate. The story was taken up by National Geographic Magazine, which later recanted on the claim. Individuals claiming to be physically immortal include Comte de Saint-Germain; in eighteenth-century France, he claimed to be centuries old, and people who adhere to the Ascended Master Teachings are convinced of his physical immortality. An Indian saint known as Vallalar claimed to have achieved immortality before disappearing for ever from a locked room in 1874.

  * * *

  Senescence results from a cumulative imbalance between damage and repair. Progress in reducing damage by improving living conditions and preventing disease, together with medical interventions, are fundamental causes of increased longevity. But myths apart, only around fifty people in human history have been verified as reaching the age of 114. Fewer than twenty of those who got to 114 have reached the age of 115. Worldwide there are estimated to be between 300 and 450 living supercentenarians—that is, over 110 years old—but as of June 2010 there is a list of only 79 validated supercentarians, and only three are male. Just how content they are is not clear.

  Currently the oldest person is a Japanese lady Kama Chinen who is just short of 115 years. The title of the oldest verified person in history belongs to Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment (122 years and 164 days old), who died on 4 August 1997. She was born in Arles, France on 21 February 1875. Her genes may have contributed to her longevity as her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to the age of 86. She rode a bicycle to the age of 100 and smoked till she was 117.

  While the oldest woman was 122, the oldest man so far was 115. He was Christian Mortensen (1882–1998), a Danish-American whose age is undisputed, although the Guinness Book of World Records still ranks him second to the disputed case of Shigechiyo Izumi, 120, as the oldest man ever. Recently the oldest man alive, Henry Allingham, died at 113 in July 2009. There was much in the news about him; he had 6 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren, 14 great-great grandchildren, and one great-great-great grandchild. He had had two mental breakdowns caused, he claimed, by working too hard. He lived in a home for blind ex-servicemen.

  New evidence studying the genomes of 1055 centenarians found that it is now possible to predict if someone can live to 100 with a 77 per cent accuracy. The result is based on analysis of 150 mutations. It was found that 90 per cent of the centenarians possessed a particular genetic signature of mutations in the relevant genes. However, one must remember that this genetic test will not tell someone how long they will live, as genetics only accounts for about a quarter or a third of our lifespan; it could tell someone how long they might live.

  The oldest known mothers are thought to be two Indian women, Rajo Devi and Omkari Panwar, who were allegedly both 70 when they had babies in 2008 following fertility treatment. But neither has a birth certificate to verify their age. The world’s oldest father, Indian farmer Nanu Ram Jogi, fathered a child in 2007 at the age of 90. He is married to his fourth wife, boasts he does not want to stop, and plans to continue producing children until he is 100. Mr Jogi admits he is not certain how many children his series of four wives have borne him—but counts at least 12 sons and nine daughters and 20 grandchildren.

  Alice Sommer was born in Prague 106 years ago and is the oldest person I know. She lives very close to me and is famed as a piano player and teacher—she still plays for several hours a day. She lives alone in quite good health, but goes out little, usually taken by her grandson. When asked how she felt about being old she replied:

  There are very good things. Experience. Looking backwards and enjoying knowledge. Only when we are so old can we appreciate the beauty of life. We are surrounded by miracles. Memories are so important. There are no bad things about growing old. None at all, and I am not at all afraid of death as that is the natural order of things. I was lucky to have been born with a very good temperament. When I am faced with a bad situation I immediately find something good in it. I do not think about how old I would like to get.

  How is she cared for?

  I am looked after extraordinarily well—a girl comes in the morning for half an hour and then another for half an hour in the evening. And I get meals on wheels from the council. I use a magnifying glass to read so do not read much but Bach is my philosopher of music.

  Those who pass beyond 90 do seem often to cope well, and centenarians can have daily lives that are as good as those ten years their junior. Being independent is a strong indicator for living long. In several studies, over one third of supercentenarians were still independent and able to care for themselves. In general it seems that this very old group are less well than the younger old, but then come to death rapidly. For example, only about 4 per cent die of cancer compared to 40 per cent of those around 50. They also have very low rates of heart disease, though there are stories that some are smoking heavily. There is a high incidence of some form of dementia, but not Alzheimer’s, though their brains have the signs of that disease.

  Of those who reach 100, a study found that about one half avoided chronic disease till they were over 80, and about one fifth escaped all the main chronic diseases. Children of centenarians suffer less from cancer and heart disease. A variation in the gene FOXO3A, a key regulator of the insulin-IGF1 signalling pathway, has a positive effect on the life expectancy of humans, and is found much more often in people living to a hundred and beyond—this appears to be true worldwide. The ApoE gene can also help with respect to dementia. Failing to give up smoking or to control blood pressure and cholesterol were reported to reduce life expectancy by 10 to 15 years. However, Clement Freud commented: ‘If you resolve to give up smoking, drinking and loving, you don’t actually live any longer, it just seems longer.’

  Studies of twins and long-lived families have indicated that genes can explain about one third of maximum lifespan, but even identical twins age differently and this may be partly due to random switching on and off of some of their genes due to environmental influences. The other determinants are how one lives and chance factors like accidents and infections. Siblings of centenarians have a significantly higher chance of becoming a centenarian themselves. We have seen that the insulin IGF-1 system is involved in determining lifespan in model organism, so could reduction in its activity increase lifespan in humans? The answer seems to be yes. Mutations known to impair IGF-1 receptor function are overrepresented in a cohort of Ashkenazi Jewish centenarians, and DNA variants in the insulin receptor gene are linked to longevity in a number of groups located throughout the world. Increased activity of sirtuins, related to ageing in yeast, prompted by the drug resveratol has not been shown to extend lifespan in mammals.

  In model organisms, such as the worm, fruit fly and mouse, changes in genes can dramatically increase their lifespan as much as fivefold. The equivalent life-extending effect in humans would result in an average lifespan of 400 years, and a maximum lifespan of over 600 years. But how healthy would such individuals be, and would they not have the effects of ageing
? Never forget Tithonus. Many of the pathways regulating lifespan in model organisms are conserved throughout evolution, yet the genes that could dramatically increase human lifespan have not been identified.

  * * *

  How long would we like to live? Polls show that on average people want to live to about 90, though some 15 per cent had no idea how long they wished to live. Many were rightly very concerned about health as they aged, and one half, for example, feared the inability to drive their car. The elderly were less fearful than the young. Only about half of the public want scientists to work on mechanisms of age extension.

  The Japanese artist Hokusai made his famous wood-block print of The Great Wave off Kanagawa in the 1820s at the age of around 65. Even after reaching the age of eighty, he was busy producing many fine prints. He often expressed his desire to live beyond the age of 90, and just before he died at the age of 88 he sighed and said his last words: ‘If heaven gives me ten more years, or an extension of even five years, I shall surely become a true artist.’ He also wrote:

  All I have produced before the age of seventy is not worth taking into account. At seventy-three I learned about the real structure of nature, of animals, trees, birds, fishes and insects. In consequence when I am eighty, I shall have made still more progress. At ninety I shall penetrate the mystery of things; at a hundred I shall certainly have reached a marvellous stage; and when I am a hundred and ten, everything I do, be it a dot or a line, will be alive. I beg those who live as long as I to see if I do not keep my word.