Longevity: A Curse or a Blessing?

            Morality and immorality have fascinated humans for centuries.  Many look to religion to answer questions relating to these topics, but Jesse Green looks to some ancient Jews instead.  In his article “What Do a Bunch of Old Jews Know About Living Forever?”, Green follows Dr. Nir Barzilai as he conducts his research in longevity.  Barzilai chooses to base his research on elderly Ashkenazim Jews for multiple reasons, the most important of which may be simply because they can be found in abundance in New York City.  The Kahn siblings, who were believed to be the oldest sibling quartet in the country, if not the world, took part in Barzilia’s research and captured the spotlight of Green’s article. 

            Irving Kahn has just celebrated his 106^th birthday.  He still works at his brokerage and money-management firm with his son and refuses to take vacations.  His sister Helen, better known as Happy, has just died only weeks shy of her 110^th birthday.  Leonore Kahn died relatively young at 99 and Peter continues to live, although blind, after 101 years.  With cooperation from the Kahn siblings and other “SuperAgers”, people over 95 who have yet to have cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, or serious cognitive decline, Barzilia has found genes which are likely to play a large role in longevity.  Multiple drug companies are now experimenting with ways of allowing those who are genetically less fortunate to reap the benefits of great DNA, but some question whether the additional years are worth living.

            “…if you lose your eyesight, you are 99 percent dead” explained Peter, who was blinded by glaucoma and macular degeneration in 2007.  Even in relatively good health, especially for his age, Peter is depressed.  Living with parents who are nearing sixty, I can see the downside of being old, whether old is fifty or 100 years old.  Of course this is not a reason to stop living when your first grey hair sprouts, but I would take this into consideration before attempting to increase my lifespan with gene therapy.  However, the counterargument is nearly all medical treatments aim to increase lifespan in some fashion and the treatments which may be developed as a result of Dr. Barzilia’s research are no different.  I can see both sides and I would need more specifics before making a decision.

            This article both brought and diminished hope.  As my parents continue to become less and less satisfied with their health and appearance, I found reading about Helen and Irving’s seemingly enjoyable lives inspiring.  Perhaps there will be a pleasurable final decade for my parents, and myself, at some point.  However, I then began to question how pleasurable the centenarians’ lives truly are.  The Kahns said that they would like to continue living, but this is a relatively low and dismal standard with which to measure quality of life.  On the other hand, the Kahns may disagree and blame my view on the naivety and greediness of youth.  Perhaps I have been spoiled by my good health.

Article:  http://nymag.com/news/features/ashkenazi-jews-2011-11/
Related: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/22/science/22longevity.html
http://www.einstein.yu.edu/aging/longevity-genes-project.aspx?utm_source=ein-cpr&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=agingproj

Photo: Lane, Christopher. 2011. Photograph. New York Magazine. 6 Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Jan. 2012. <http://nymag.com/news/features/ashkenazi-jews-2011-11/>.