Scientists said yesterday they have new evidence about why women
live longer than men, from a study of historical data showing castrated
Koreans far outlived their non-eunuch contemporaries.
The study, published in the scientific journal “Current Biology,”
used detailed genealogical records of the Imperial nobility during
Korea’s Joseon dynasty, which spanned more than 500 years from the late
1300s to the early 1900s.
According to the data, most men, including kings and royal family members, died in their late-40s or early-50s.
But noble-class eunuchs — men who were castrated either by accident
or because of social benefits — lived, on average, to the ripe, old age
of 70.
Study author Kyung-Jin Min of South Korea’s Inha University, told AFP the reason is probably that manly hormone, testosterone:
“Testosterone is known to increase the incidence of coronary heart disease and reduce immune function in males,” he said.
Castration “removes the source of male sex hormones,” the study
notes, adding the practice has already been proven to help many male
animals live longer.
Castration also cuts off the possibility of reproduction, which Kyung-Jin noted could also be a factor.
According to “one of the leading theories of aging, aging occurs at
the expense of reproduction,” he said, because the body has limited
energy that can be used either to keep up reproductive function, or else
to keep up everything else.
But although the eunuchs could not father children biologically, they
married, adopted and raised children, and generally lived lives very
similar to their non-castrated peers.
“In order to eliminate socioeconomic factors that could have affected
lifespan, the lifespan of the eunuchs was compared to the lifespan of
men from other Yan-ban (noble class) families with a similar
socioeconomic status,” Kyung-Jin said.
And “to exclude genetic factors that could have affected the
lifespan, we compared the lifespan of eunuchs with multiple Yan-ban
families.”
Modern men looking to extend their lifespan could consider
“testosterone reduction therapy,” but Kyung-Jin said it’s probably
premature.
For one thing, it is not clear if it would have an effect if the
therapy were started at an older age — the eunuchs were all castrated as
children.
And for another, the therapy could have side effects that some men may feel make that longer life less worth living.
“We may need to consider the side effects of it,” Kyung-Jin said, “mainly, reduction of sex drive in males.”—AFP
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment