The extraordinary increase of the elderly in developed countries underscore the importance of studies on ageing\udand longevity and the need for the prompt spread of knowledge about ageing in order to satisfactorily decrease\udthe medical, economic and social problems associated to advancing years, because of the increased number of\udindividuals not autonomous and affected by invalidating pathologies.\udCentenarians are equipped to reach the extreme limits of human life span and, most importantly, to show relatively\udgood health, being able to perform their routine daily life and to escape fatal age-related diseases. Thus, they are\udthe best example of extreme longevity, representing selected people in which the appearance of major age-related\uddiseases, such as cancer, and cardiovascular diseases among others, has been consistently delayed or escaped. To\uddiscuss the relevance of genetics and life style in the attainment of longevity, five papers mostly focused on Italian\udcentenarians have been assembled in this series. The aim is to realize, through a” positive biology” approach (rather\udthan making diseases the central focus of research, “positive biology” seeks to understand the causes of positive\udphenotypes, trying to explain the biological mechanisms of health and well-being) how to prevent and/or reduce\udelderly frailty and disability.
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