Bioanalysis of age-related changes of lipid metabolism in nonagenarians

The aim of the present study was the bioanalysis of lipid metabolism in the aged patients and to study the relationship between these biochemical markers and longevity. Eleven nonagenarians, nine women and two men, aged 94+/-3 years and ten control patients, six women and four men, aged 84+/-5 years, followed at the Department of Metabolic Care and Gerontology, Charles University, Teaching Hospital entered the study. All subjects were self-sufficient, without major illnesses and free living. At the start of the project the free fatty acids (FFA), thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS), retinol, alpha tocopherol, ascorbic acid, cholesterol, triacylglycerols, phospholipids in serum, in lipoprotein fractions and fatty acids (FA) and phospholipids in erythrocyte membrane were determined. We used capillary gas chromatography for determination of fatty acids. Retinol and alpha tocopherol were analysed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, other parameters were determined spectrophotometrically or spectrofluorometrically. We found significantly higher LDL polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) 22:4n--3 (P=0.028) and 22:6n--3 (P=0.018) and a significant increase of HDL alpha tocopherol/cholesterol ratio (P=0.034) in nonagenarians. There were not any significant differences in erythrocyte membrane fatty acids and phospholipids. In serum we found significantly higher level of TBARS (3.22+/-1.22 vs 1.98+/-0.71 micromol/l, P=0.012) in nonagenarians, other parameters were not changed significantly. The higher concentration of PUFAs in LDL and alpha tocopherol in HDL might be parameters related to longevity.