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
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
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
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
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.
