An immune system that barely fades despite age: That’s what would have allowed aging adults to reach their venerable age, according to a brand new study.
• Also read: Here are four eating habits to adopt if you want to live to be 100 years old
Many researchers, including some from Boston University School of Medicine, have said they have a high-functioning immune system thanks to the unique makeup of their immune cells, according to The Independent.
Normally, the immune system declines with age, making the system more susceptible to disease and making it more difficult to recover from it.
Paola Sebastiani, one of the study’s lead authors, said that in the centenarians studied, the immunological profiles observed confirmed a history of exposure to various infections from which patients could have recovered.
“This supports the hypothesis that centenarians are enriched with protective factors that increase their ability to recover from infection,” she said.
Thus, the researchers hope to understand the mechanisms that make it possible to develop a more resilient immune system in order to draw inspiration from them.
“Centenarians and their exceptional longevity provide a ‘blueprint’ for how to live a more productive and healthy life,” added George Murphy, another lead author.
The study, which is one of the largest in North America on this rare group, was conducted on seven centenarians.
