The Phenotypic Characterization of the Cammalleri Sisters, an Example of Exceptional Longevity
Giulia Accardi, Anna Aiello, Stefano Aprile, Rosalia Caldarella, Giuseppe Cammarata, Ciriaco Carru, Calogero Caruso, Marcello Ciaccio, Paolo Colomba, Damiano Galimberti, Caterina Maria Gambino, Sergio Davinelli, Immaculata De Vivo, Mattia Emanuela Ligotti, Sonya Vasto, Angelo Zinellu, Giuseppina Candore
Abstract
This article shows demographic, clinical, anamnestic, cognitive, and functional data as well as biochemical, genetic, and epigenetic parameters of two exceptional siblings: Diega (supercentenarian) and Filippa (semisupercentenarian) Cammalleri. The purpose of this study is to provide new insights into the extreme phenotypes represented by semisupercentenarians and supercentenarians. Different studies have been published on supercentenarians, but to the best of our knowledge, this is the only concerning two sisters and the most detailed from a phenotypic point of view. Our findings agree with the suggestion that supercentenarians have an increasing relative resistance to age-related diseases, approximating the limits of the functional human reserve to address successfully the acute causes of death. More interestingly, our data agree with, and extend, the suggestion that inflammation and oxidative stress predict centenarian mortality.