Randall Parker of FuturePundit comments on the latest results from studies of the long-lived and centenarians: "CETP is on one of the 3 pathways that transfer cholesterol from HDL particles in the blood into the liver. So CETP is involved in regulating the amount of cholesterol in the blood. ... Work is underway to develop a drug that emulates the effect of this life-extending version of the CETP gene. But I'd much rather get a gene therapy that'd enhance my liver cells to express the genetic variant for CETP that slows aging. I've long thought the liver a key target for slowing whole body aging because it regulates blood lipid, lipoprotein, and cholesterol levels. This CETP gene variant (called CETP VV) is likely just one of many genetic variations waiting to be found that are expressed in the liver and can raise life expectancy." As I've said before, this sort of complex work to tweak metabolism to slow the rate of age-related damage does not seem to be the best use of scientific resources, at least when compared to the path of periodically repairing damage.

Link: http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/003990.html