Have you ever spoken to an older person about their secret to a long life and had them tell you that the key to living longer is to keep busy? There may actually be something in that, as a new study has shown that the key to long life and wellness may be hidden inside a gene.
This gene – officially called the DRD4 7R allele – is a dopamine-receptor gene and appears in much higher rates in people who are over the age of 90. It is strongly linked to wellbeing and an increase in lifespan when studied in mice, too. This is the first time that a specific ‘long life’ gene has been noted, and results of the study have appeared in The Journal of Neuroscience.
A key scientist has said that this gene, which helps with the transmission of signals between neurons in the human body, is a big part of the area of the brain which is responsible for reward-driven behaviour and attention seeking.
Interestingly, people who carry this gene are not only likely to live longer, they also carry certain other recognisable social traits. Carriers of the gene appear, from the study, to be more motivated, more physical and more active. This type of gene also has a link to less positive effects, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and to people who have risk-taking or addictive personalities.
It could be the case that the gene simply makes people live more active lives, and that this way of living, in turn, increases health and gives people greater likelihood of living longer, rather than that the gene itself directly makes people live longer. It’s certainly well documented that an active lifestyle reduces health concerns and has all kinds of positive benefits. Further studies will now be put in place to identify exactly what this gene does and how to benefit from the new knowledge.
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