The "Methuselah" Gene?

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=methuselah-mutation-linked-to-long-life

Researchers have known of a gene mutation in worms, flies, and mice which can extend life for quite some time now. However, they are now studying Ashkenazi Jews to attempt to find similar mutations in them. It has been discovered that the Ashkenazi Jews who lived to age 95 or older are much more likely to have similiar mutations in the gene for insulinlike growth factor 1 receptor than those who did not live to age 95.

The gene mutation makes cells less responsive to insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF1), which is a growth hormone secreted by the liver. In mice, the decreased response to the hormone increased life span by up to 40 percent and also delayed age-related diseases. This hormone has been studied in dogs as well. In a study where dogs were fed a restricted calorie diet, the dogs lived longer and had lower levels of IGF1. When, in another study, the dogs were engineered to produce less IGF1, they lived up to 50 percent longer than normal dogs.

The studies done on humans have been much more ambiguous. Researchers have been studying a group of 384 Ashkenazi Jews who are all between the age of 95 and 108 and have a family history of longevity. These people were compared to a control of 312 living and dead people, also Ashkenazi Jews, who had no history of longevity. However, because many of the control group had died 30 years ago, they could not be directly compared with those who had lived to 95 or older. Therefore, researchers have been looking for inherited mutations in the offspring of each group. They were able to find insulinlike growth factor 1 receptor mutations in 9 of the older group, while only finding it in one of the control. They also found that IGF1 blood levels are actually higher in the centenarians, which may be attributed to the body releasing more IGF1 to compensate for the mutated receptors. They have found that males have other genes which increase their sensitivity to IGF1, so this mutation may not have much of an effect upon their aging.

The hormone somatostatin has been found to reduce IGF1 production in humans, but Professor Pinchas Cohen warns that IGF1 may still not be the "anti-aging miracle" that has been searched for ever since the mythical fountain of youth. Cohen states that "it's likely that centenarians have not just one lucky gene, but several." Cohen continues to research other huamn genes, searching for some combination which may actually be able to slow aging in humans.

RESPONSE:
This article gives a glimpse into how much genetic research and engineering is advancing. The concern I have about research like this is the ethics of it. How are we to know how far is too far in changing the genetic makkeup of a person? However, if, like the study with the mice, researchers can find a way to offset age-related diseases in humans, this study could be a huge breakthrough and could save many lives.