Adiponectin and Healthy Aging in Centenarians

Abstract

As the aging population expands rapidly worldwide, it has become increasingly important to identify factors that offer means to promote healthy aging. It is well documented that advancing age is associated with increased body fat and blunted insulin action. Centenarians, who are the best model of successful aging, are a unique exception to this phenomenon. Increasing evidence has documented the preservation of insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis along with the very low prevalence of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease among centenarians. We demonstrated that centenarians have a high serum concentration of adiponectin, which was associated with a favorable metabolic phenotype, including higher levels of HDL-C and lipoprotein lipase, and lower levels of hemoglobin A1c, C-reactive protein, and E-selectin concentrations. These observations suggested that high adiponectin concentration may be potentially important for maintaining health and function and could be a target for Anti-Aging Medicine.