Leonid A. Gavrilov

Mutation load and human longevity

Since paternal age at reproduction is considered to be the main factor determining human spontaneous mutation rate (Crow, J. (1993) Environ. Mol. Mutagenesis, 21, 122-129), the effect of paternal age on human longevity was studied on 8,518 adult persons (at age 30 and above) from European aristocratic families with well-known genealogy. The daughters born to old fathers (50-59 years) lose about 4.4 years of their life compared to daughters of young fathers (20-29 years) and these losses are highly statistically significant, while sons are not significantly affected. Since only daughters inherit the paternal X chromosome, this sex-specific decrease in daughters longevity might indicate that human longevity genes (crucial, house-keeping genes) sensitive to mutational load might be located in this chromosome.

Models of Systems Failure in Aging

Mathematical models of systems failure are critically important for understanding the mechanisms of aging because aging of organisms is associated with increased risk of failure of its physiological systems.

A typical interdisciplinary topic: questions of the mortality dynamics

Dynamic characteristics of mortality experience are intensely studied in demography and in experimental gerontology. The classic Gompertz-Makeham function is also a significant starting point of numerous investigations in this topic. By comparative analysis of human vital statistics, one can observe characteristic secular and topological variations of the Gompertz parameters. Some of these findings are reviewed briefly in the article. Some other related questions are also touched upon. For example, the concept of the maximum life span is criticised. A thorough overview of literature data makes it clear that the general male mortality excess is by far not so unambiguous as is widely supposed. Surprisingly simple stochastic models, published by one of us in the recent past, can serve as theoretical background for the Gompertz law. Further studies would be necessary to check the biological relevance of these models.