Acknowledgments: Received November 18, 2002. Accepted April 4, 2003. Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to Giuseppe Paolisso, M.D., Department of Geriatric Medicine and Metabolic Diseases, IV Divisione di Medicina Interna, Piazza Miraglia 2, I-80138 Naples, Italy. E-mail: giuseppe.paolisso@unina2.it. The EU Projects (PROTAGE, FUNCTIONAGE, and ECHA) and References Vanfleteren JR, Braeckman BP. Mechanisms of lifespan determination in Caenorhabditis elegans. Neurobiol Aging; Kimura KD, Tissenbaum HA, Liu Y, Ruvkun G. Daf-2, an insulin receptor-like gene that regulates longevity and diapause in Caenorhabditis elegans. Science; Li Y, Dorma B, Roda R. Kenyon C. Daf-2: a NF-kappaB/ forkhead family member that can function to double the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans. Science; Tissenbaum HA, Ruvkun G. An insulin-like signaling pathway affects both longevity and reproduction in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics; Henderson ST, Johnson TE. Daf-16 integrates developmental and environmental inputs to mediate aging in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Curr Biol; Clancy DJ, Gems D, Harshman LG, Oldham S, Stocker H, Hafen E, Leevers SJ, Partridge L. Extension of life-span by loss of CHICO, a Drosophila insulin receptor substrate protein. Science; Steger RW, Bartke A, Cecim M. Premature aging in transgenic mice expressing different growth hormone genes. J Reprod Fertil Suppl; Paolisso G, Gambardella A, Balbi V, Ammendola S, D'Amore A, M. Body composition, body fat distribution, and resting metabolic rate in healthy centenarians. Am J Clin Nutr; Sambrook J, Fritsch EF, Maniatis T (eds). Molecular cloning: a manual. 2nd Ed. Cold Spring Harbor: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; Kossila M, Sinkovic M, Karkkainen PI, Laukkanen MO, Miettinen R, Vesanen J, Kekalainen P, Kuusisto J, Yla-Herttuala S, Laakso M. Cloning of a novel phosphatidylinositol Rose G, De Benedictis G. Low insulin resistance and preserved beta-cell function contribute to human longevity but are not associated with TH-INS genes. Exp Gerontol. 2006;41(4): 315-319.

Thatcher AR, Kannisto V, Vaupel JW. The forces of mortality at age 70 to 120. In: Odense Monographs on Population Aging, vol. 5. Odense: Odense University Press; 1998.

Yashin AI, De Benedictis G, Vaupel JW, Tan Q, Andreev KF, Iachine IA, Bonafe` M, De Luca M, Valensin S, Carotenuto L, Franceschi C. Genes, demography and life span: the contribution of demographic data and genetic studies on ageing and longevity. Am J Hum Genet. 1999;65(4): 1178-1193.

Alberti KGMM, Zimmet PZ, for the WHO Consultation. Definition, diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus and its complications. I. Diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus. Provisional report of a WHO consultation. Diabetic Med. 1998;15(7):539-553.