Towards a United Nations Council of Centenarians: Benefits, Principles and Practices

Seeing past so much of the idiocy confusing the forefront of this pandemic, humans could look to such examples of Centenarians from each nation, and thereby find their own personal path into the future. From present data the number of worldwide centenarians is around 450,000.

To get this formidable and beneficial idea off the ground, UN Secretary General Gutteres could send out a letter to each nation's representative asking for two or three names of the longest lived persons in each nation, and then ask the best members of his Secretariat to document their narratives and insights as to special methods and considerations they could share on how they arrived at 100 years of age.

In view of the recent passing of former Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar, at 101 years of age, this is timely, and even long overdue.

From present data, the number of worldwide centenarians is around 450,000.

Their insights could be compiled into a compendium thereof and published as such: United Nations Centenarians, would be a good title. This could be used as a text in schools as early as elementary school, and the compilation would also be very valuable in medical schools in consideration of all kinds of subjects, like Preventive Oncology, Consumer Protection, Immunology, Nutrition, and so on.

For example: The Island Where People Forget to Die - The New York Times click here

click here

____________

"Ikarians are running at 100! Many say they forget to die! Making it no surprise that the Ikarians' phenomenal longevity has become a hot worldwide topic. In recent years, more and more people have become fascinated by the lifestyle of Ikarians and want to know their secrets to good health. International scientists have turned their strong interest to learn what it is that manages to make Ikarians not only centenarians but also to have a very good physical condition and health even at a hundred years old. There are many reports that focus on the life of the inhabitants of this small Greek island."

________________

What follows is entirely from Wikipedia, needs not to be rewritten or "reiterated" since it is so thoroughly documented. The next one we present at OpEdNews will be focused on individual centenarians whose are worth examining.

The total number of living centenarians in the world remains uncertain. It was estimated by the United Nations as 23,000 in 1950, 110,000 in 1990, 150,000 in 1995, 209,000 in 2000, 324,000 in 2005 and 455,000 in 2009.

However, these older estimates did not take into account the contemporary downward adjustments of national estimates made by several countries such as the United States; thus, in 2012, the UN estimated there to be only 316,600 centenarians worldwide.

The following table gives estimated centenarian populations by country, including both the latest and the earliest known estimates, where available.

___________

Lymphoblastoid cell lines established from blood samples of centenarians have significantly higher activity of the DNA repair protein PARP (Poly ADP ribose polymerase) than cell lines from younger (20 to 70 years old) individuals. The lymphocytic cells of centenarians have characteristics typical of cells from young people, both in their capability of priming the mechanism of repair after H₂O₂ sublethal oxidative DNA damage and in their PARP capacity. PARP activity measured in the permeabilized mononuclear leukocyte blood cells of thirteen mammalian species correlated with maximum lifespan of the species. These findings suggest that PARP mediated DNA repair activity contributes to the longevity of centenarians, consistent with the DNA damage theory of aging.

___________________

A survey of the lifespans of male individuals with entries in the Oxford Classical Dictionary (i.e., a sample pre-selected to include those who lived long enough to attain historical notability) found a median lifespan of 72 years, and a range of 32 to 107 years, for 128 individuals born before 100 BC (though the same study found a median lifespan of 66 years for 100 individuals born after 100 BC but no later than 602 AD); by comparison, male individuals listed in Chambers Biographical Dictionary who died between 1900 and 1949 had a median lifespan of 71.5 years, with a range between 29 and 105 years.

The author of the 1994 study concluded that it was only in the second half of the 20th century that medical advances have extended the life expectancy of those who live into adulthood.

Reliable references to individuals in antiquity who lived past 100 years are quite rare, but they do exist. For instance, Cicero's wife Terentia was reported by Pliny the Elder to have lived from 98 BC to 6 AD, 104 years. Regnal dates of Bronze Age monarchs are notoriously unreliable; the sixth dynasty Egyptian ruler Pepi II is sometimes listed as having lived c. 2278 - c. 2184 BC, as he is said to have reigned for 94 years, but alternative readings cite a reign of just 64 years. Addagoppe of Harran, mother of the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire Nabonidus lived from c. 648-544 BC according to an apparently autobiographical account.

Diogenes Laà �rtius (c. AD 250) gives one of the earliest references regarding the plausible centenarian longevity given by a scientist, the astronomer Hipparchus of Nicea (c. 185 - c. 120 BC), who, according to the doxographer, assured that the philosopher Democritus of Abdera (c. 470/460 - c. 370/360 BC) lived 109 years. All other ancient accounts of Democritus appear to agree that the philosopher lived at least 90 years. The case of Democritus differs from those of, for example, Epimenides of Crete (7th and 6th centuries BC), who is said to have lived an implausible 154, 157 or 290 years, depending on the source.

Other ancient Greek philosophers thought to have lived beyond the age of 90 include Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570/565 - c. 475/470 BC), Pyrrho of Ellis (c. 360 - c. 270 BC), and Eratosthenes of Cirene (c. 285 - c. 190 BC).

Hosius of CÃ �rdoba, the man who convinced Constantine the Great to call the First Council of Nicaea, reportedly lived to age 102.

A rare record of an ordinary person who lived to be a centenarian is the tombstone of Roman British legionary veteran Julius Valens, inscribed "VIXIT ANNIS C".^[82]

In the medieval period, Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan (d. 1097) is reported by Bernold of Constance as having lived past 100 years (iam maior centenario).^[83]

____________

click here

________________________________________________________

Research in Italy suggests that healthy centenarians have high levels of both vitamin A andvitamin E and that this seems to be important in causing their extreme longevity.

Other research contradicts this, however, and has found that this theory does not apply to centenarians from Sardinia, for whom other factors probably play a more important role.

A preliminary study carried out in Poland showed that, in comparison with young healthy female adults, centenarians living in Upper Silesia had significantly higher red blood cell glutathione reductase and catalase activities, although serum levels of vitamin E were not significantly higher.

Researchers in Denmark have also found that centenarians exhibit a high activity of glutathione reductase in red blood cells. In this study, the centenarians having the best cognitive and physical functional capacity tended to have the highest activity of this enzyme.

Other research has found that people whose parents became centenarians have an increased number of naà �ve B cells. It is well known that the children of parents who have a long life are also likely to reach a healthy age, but it is not known why, although the inherited genes are probably important. A variation in the gene FOXO3 A is known to have a positive effect on the life expectancy of humans, and is found much more often in people living to 100 and beyond - moreover, this appears to be true worldwide.

Men and women who are 100 or older tend to have extroverted personalities, according to Thomas T. Perls, the director of the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University. Centenarians will often have many friends, strong ties to relatives and high self-esteem. In addition, some research suggests that the offspring of centenarians are more likely to age in better cardiovascular health than their peers

(Article changed on December 15, 2020 at 15:29)