Many people know a terrible and little-studied disease called progeria. Children suffering from it turn into little old men and die in early youth. But there is, it turns out, almost the opposite syndrome.

In March 2002, in one of the secluded corners of the old Tbilisi cemetery, they buried unique person- Coco Lomidze, better known in criminal circles as a thief in law named Old Man. An outsider would be incredibly surprised to see in a coffin instead of a 54-year-old man ... a man who looked like a ten-year-old boy!

Indeed, Lomidze's exclusivity did not lie in the fact that at the age of 15 he was recognized as the most dexterous pickpocket (pickpocket) in Georgia.

Those around him once noticed that he had stopped aging. Time seemed to run backwards for him.

Metamorphoses began when Coco turned 25 years old. The gray hair that appeared early began to gradually disappear, wrinkles were smoothed out, the oval of the face was rounded, the stiff stubble was replaced by a youthful fluff. Inexplicable changes in appearance - "rejuvenation" that many women dream of - lasted for almost thirty years! Wherein psychological condition, mental capacity corresponded to his actual age: over the years, he became more and more enterprising and strong-willed.

Lomidze found a practical, of course criminal, application for his mysterious transformation from a mature man into a boy when he was 36 years old.

Doggy wedding with dowry

In 1983, after the suicide of Mikhail Georgadze, his widow Manana moved from Moscow to Tbilisi and settled in a luxurious apartment with an armored door and iron bars on the windows.

Our reference: Mikhail Porfirevich Georgadze, born in 1912, Georgian, born in Tbilisi, for 26 years permanent secretary of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

In 1983, at the initiative of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Yuri Andropov, a criminal case was initiated against Georgadze on the fact of taking bribes in a special large sizes for granting deputy mandates of the Supreme Council to his countrymen, appointing them to various positions in the State Planning Commission, Foreign Trade and the Council of Ministers of the USSR. During a search at his dacha near Moscow, more than 20 kg of jewelry made of gold and platinum were found, precious stones with a total weight of more than 4,000 carats, about 5 million rubles, tens of thousands of US dollars, German marks, British pounds sterling and other foreign currencies.

At the end of the search, Georgadze, without waiting for the verdict of the court, shot himself, and his wife, taking the jewelry and money hidden in the caches that the investigators could not find, fled to Tbilisi.

Lomidze knew that the elderly Manana never leaves her home, she is a distrustful woman, strangers doesn't let in. The apartment is inhabited by three Great Danes, each as tall as a calf. However, the intriguing mind of Coco prompted him to exit, or rather, the entrance.

By the scheduled day of the raid on the apartment of the "millionaire in exile" Lomidze was already 36 years old, and he looked like a 15-year-old kid. Coco put on his school uniform, tied a pioneer tie. In order to neutralize the four-legged guards, I bought three female shepherd dogs in a dog kennel, which had a period of estrus.

After the doorbell rang, Manana looked through the peephole and asked what the “pioneer” needed. Coco squeaked, they say, their school collects waste paper. Door opened. Immediately, bitches were launched into the apartment, which, forgetting about everything, were immediately taken up by the dogs. A Coco and two of his accomplices took care of the hostess. "Bombillas" took so many valuables that they drank for a whole year, forgetting about the thieves' trade.

Don't kiss strange boys

April 9, 1989 Lomidze remembered better than his own birthday. It was on this day that Eduard Shevardnadze, after long wanderings around the world in the rank of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, finally managed to visit Tbilisi. His program included a visit to the Palace of Pioneers. Not only the directorate of the institution, but also the criminal community of Georgia were preparing for the visit.

In the Caucasus, public humiliation is more terrible for a person than a blow with a dagger. It is no coincidence that at the thieves' meeting, the "crowned" authorities decided to humiliate the Gray Fox (nickname Shevardnadze). Sophisticated revenge relied on him for the "inconvenience" that he created for them in the 1960-1970s, being first the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and then the first secretary of the Communist Party of the Republic. The executor of the execution was Coco Lomidze, who, if successful, was promised the highest title of the thieves in the world: a thief in law.

There were many flowers, smiles and music. Kids in red ties were lined up on either side of the red carpet leading to the Palace. The right flank was ... Coco. He was in his 42nd year at that time, but outwardly it was impossible to distinguish him from the surrounding youths!

As soon as Shevardnadze, surrounded by bodyguards, stepped onto the red carpet, Coco rushed towards him. He shouted: “Batono, batono Edward, son of Ambrose, you are our messiah, we have been waiting for your appearance to the people for so long! You are our savior, you, like Moses, will lead us out of the desert ... Let me kiss your hand!

Yakov Tsiperovich. Another one-of-a-kind who, at 60, looked no older than 30.

Shevardnadze wiped away a tear, lifted the little boy in his arms and kissed her three times. These moments were more than enough to Wrist Watch the guests ended up in Lomidze's pocket. In a second he disappeared into the crowd of pioneers, and in half an hour - from Tbilisi.

Shevardnadze missed the loss, only crossed the threshold of the office of the director of the Palace of Pioneers. "Philipp Patek" with a gold bracelet adorned with a scattering of diamonds - the most expensive in the world Swiss Watches- were presented to him by the President of the German Union of Industrialists as an advance payment for his efforts in the speedy withdrawal of the Group Soviet troops from the GDR.

Two days later, the thieves returned the watch, but they did it in such a way that all Georgian newspapers trumpeted about it. Shevardnadze's public humiliation has taken place!

And the crib...

In 1989, Lomidze's male function began to fade, and Tamara, his cohabitant, insisted that he turn to Semyon Dalakishvili, deputy director of the All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Morphology and Gerontology, about his "rejuvenation". After laying out Coco's photographs on the table, the professor thought. Finally, looking up at the patient, he said:

If your "rejuvenation" goes at the same pace, then you will meet your sixtieth birthday in a cradle with a pacifier in your mouth ... Sorry for the black humor. You most likely have a genetic defect. Unfortunately, neither my institute nor foreign clinics can help ...

In May 1990, the unique patient was examined by the Minister of Health of the USSR E.I. Chazov. Here is his comment verbatim:

“Biological age does not necessarily coincide with the calendar age of a person. There are examples of extremely early old age, when even 5-7-year-olds show all the signs of aging. This genetic disease is called progeria. But in order for the aging process to really reverse, the body itself began to rejuvenate - this is impossible! Medicine does not have such facts, therefore there is no special term for such a “disease”. Aging is a multi-link, destructive and, alas, irreversible process.

It is difficult for me to judge what happened in the case of Lomidze - I saw this patient only once, and in our specialized clinics he was not observed. Surely some genetic disorders he had. The sensational rejuvenation of Lomidze can be explained - cases when the process of external aging slowed down, sometimes for decades, are known. But, of course, Lomidze was not getting younger. This is not given to any mortal!

The most eloquent evidence of the aging of the organism of the unique from Tbilisi is the early extinction of its male function. As for external signs"rejuvenation" of the patient, then this, I repeat, is most likely only a manifestation of an anomaly at the genetic level.

The world appears to have ageless people who remain young at age 97. And this is not a consequence of any operations or injections, no falsification. They really do not age, frozen at a certain age mark. There are those who are getting younger every year.

Phenomenon: not aging person

Every year there are more cases when a person not only stops aging, but also begins to get younger. They do nothing to rejuvenate, neither in terms of lifestyle changes, nor in terms of medical intervention. Scientists call this phenomenon a phenomenon. Its nature is not clear, but is of great interest.

The oldest ageless person celebrated his 97th birthday.

There are different cases of stopping aging, turning aging into rejuvenation. These stories have both happy and sad endings. There are children who, immediately after birth, remain at their age. Their bodies age, but unevenly, causing deformation. The aging process is slow. One year of growing up of such children is equal to 4 years of ordinary children. Such a child will never be able to grow old, because he will die from other causes. ahead of time. For parents, this is not a miracle, but a real disaster. Scientists believe that the reason lies in the mutation of genes. But for now, they can't say for sure.

There are also people who stop aging after a combination of certain circumstances. They are rapidly getting younger, but then they begin to age again more intensively than before and die. Also, there are more optimistic cases where a person simply does not age as fast as ordinary people. The pace of his aging is so slow that others are almost invisible.

Ageless Candy Lo

The model is Chinese by origin. Candy is now 50 years old, but she looks like a 30-year-old woman in her prime. Mother of three children. She believes that slow aging in her case is associated with an ideal lifestyle, lack of bad habits, positive mental attitude and sports. Realizing that she was significantly younger than her peers, Candy used her advantage commercially by writing a book about her story. The book is called Timeless.

Youthful Rose Faroni

This is exactly the person who, having lived to 97 years old, still does not age. Vice versa, Rosa Faroni rejuvenated so much that her friends stopped recognizing her, confusing her with her daughter.

Now she jokes about the fact that if she decides to get pregnant, wouldn't it be funny to give birth when the 100th anniversary is on the threshold. At the same time, as gerontologists note, she became younger not only in body, but also in mind.

All her data is younger than her passport age by at least 70 years. She has a sharp mind, an excellent memory, physical form. All her life she never followed any diets, did not lead the right way of life, smoked and drank. This is a real phenomenon.

Sleepless Yakov Tsiperovich

This is a man who lives in Germany. After a near-death experience lasting about an hour, he woke up and stopped aging. It happened in 1979.

An interesting fact about this man's story is that he doesn't need sleep. He can't sleep at all. He learned over time to give the body horizontal position but it doesn't need sleep.

In order to learn how to lie down on the surface without hindrance, it took him time and yoga classes. Now Yakov Tsiperovich is 58 years old, he is completely healthy and looks exactly the same as he was before clinical death.

Ageless Sei Senagon

The Japanese Sei has just turned 75 years old, as she stopped aging. She began to get younger. The physiological process of her body has completely turned into a process of rejuvenation. Updated hair, teeth, wrinkles disappeared, restarted menstrual cycle and sexual desire appeared. Over time, the woman began to look completely young. She had to divorce her husband and remarry a younger man, with whom she had a child.

Is there a chance to turn the phenomenon into the norm?

Such a possibility exists. Scientists from the United States of America have come to the conclusion that the aging process is not natural for the human body. Genetically, a person has a complex program to counteract aging.

Video: How to stop aging with antioxidants and free radicals.

For longevity in human body responsible for a group of genes. By studying the DNA of older people who are 90 years old, scientists were able to draw up a genetic map of a person. The group of people tested consisted of sisters and brothers who were related by blood.

The discovery was stunning. It turned out that a group of genes was found in the studied elderly people, which blocks the genes that trigger the aging process.

They are called genes of youth. The problem is that these genes usually remain inactive. Today, the challenge for gerontologists is to understand the mechanism by which these genes are activated. When this happens, ageless people will appear more and more often until all of humanity is rejuvenated.

We have found that aging is a biological process associated with the accumulation of damage at the molecular and cellular level (see "Why do people age?"). Why, if we are all subject to the influence of time, do people age at different rates? The answer to this question is of interest not only to each of us, but also to scientists 🙂

The first possible answers are:

• differences in genetics;
• differences in external and internal factors affecting during life.

We think that the connection of genes with the aging process is no longer a secret for anyone. Genetics over the past couple of decades has identified more than a thousand genes associated with aging and longevity. It is known that all those who have lived to 90-100 years old have genetic similarities with each other. It is especially interesting that the genes associated with aging are mainly associated with the regulation of metabolic processes in the body.

Every day, substances enter our body (with food - water, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and trace elements, with air - oxygen). All substances entering the body undergo a series of changes:

• complex substances break down into simple ones (proteins - to amino acids, carbohydrates - to mono- and disaccharides, etc.);
• from simple substances the molecules needed by the body are synthesized;
• waste products of metabolism are removed.

Special genes are responsible for the correct course of these processes. The set of these genes is individual. Respectively, metabolic processes while being generally uniform, they still have individual differences. This has been confirmed in scientific studies.

Thus, it was found that longevity genes are involved in the recovery processes in the cell, "pulling apart" the aggregates of damaged proteins and sending them for disposal.

Conversely, there are genes that lead to accelerated aging. For example, if the mTOR kinase is deactivated, then aging slows down, since the processes of self-digestion of cells containing damaged mitochondria and proteins begin to become more active. And the working mTOR kinase turns off these processes - it is important for it to ensure protein synthesis from amino acids, regardless of the presence of "intracellular debris".

Therefore, genetic research promising direction studying the causes of aging. Perhaps in the future humanity will learn to influence this factor of aging too.

However, the rate of aging does not primarily depend on heredity (the contribution of genetics is only 20%), but on lifestyle factors.

Each of us noticed how worse appearance with lack of sleep or stress. Each of us has seen people who abuse alcohol or have severe chronic diseases, and you understand that such people age much faster.

To the most significant factors lifestyle, affecting the rate of aging of the body in general and the skin in particular, include:

• type of food and eating habits;
• level of physical activity;
• smoking.

The most important thing about this group of aging factors is that lifestyle factors can be controlled. This is an area that largely depends only on the person himself and his actions. Biological age can be controlled through sports, proper nutrition, regular medical examinations and smoking cessation. Although, knowing this, many people still do not pay due attention to a healthy lifestyle.

We all belong to different psychological types, differ in what is a value for us, attitude to our appearance, assessment of our capabilities and desire to act in order to change what does not suit us.

However, the topic of the connection between a person's character and the rate of his aging has not yet been studied. But, we think, each of you noticed that those people who age more slowly than others, as a rule, pass more easily. stressful situations, in general, are calmer, smile more often, have many hobbies and interests.

Therefore, important from the point of view of preserving youth are:

• positive attitude to life in general, the predominance of positive emotions;
• the presence of hobbies and interests, the desire to develop, vitality;
• the atmosphere at home and at work, the level of stress and adaptation to it;
• the ability to rest, preventing the development of chronic fatigue syndrome;
• oddly enough - education and intelligence, which are associated with the attitude to everyday skin care, and the level of knowledge and ideas about how to do it right, and attitude towards one's health;
• self-confidence, good sense of humour, propensity to enjoy the challenge, openness to experience.

These are the personal qualities that will help push back old age.

The long-term studies involved 954 residents of the New Zealand city of Dunedin.

The results of a study conducted by a large group of scientists from the UK, USA, Israel and New Zealand can be called sensational. The experiment, involving almost a thousand people, lasted 12 years. Its results can change the life of every person on the planet. The results of the research were summed up by the journal National Academy of Science.

The long-term studies involved 954 residents of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. All of them were 38 years old at the end of the experiment. But their biological age ranged from 30 to 60. This means that some of them grew younger over the years, others aged three times faster than usual.

Those who quickly grew old turned out to be much more lucky who became younger. There were only three of them, but this is enough to talk about a scientifically confirmed phenomenon. Physiologically, they appeared to be the same age as when the experiment began, and looked like the children of their peers, who looked to be in their 60s. Studying these three may reveal the molecular and behavioral secrets of "eternal" youth and active longevity.

Lead researcher Dan Belsky, a professor of geriatrics at Duke University in the United States, said that fighting the diseases that accompany aging is futile. "If we want to be able to prevent age-related diseases, we must begin to actively study the aging of young people, ”the Daily Mail quotes the scientist. In other words, it is necessary to fight the cause, not the effect.

While the secret eternal youth not disclosed. But scientists made the first conclusions based on the results of the experiment. Keeping youthful helps quit smoking, feasible physical exercise, balanced moderate nutrition and ... high intelligence. All three lucky people turned out to be educated and creative people. They have already agreed to continue the research. Therefore, the hope of finding a cure for old age remains for everyone.

What can be more frightening than coming old age? Wrinkles, weakness, gradual loss of clarity of thought, permanent illness... Unfortunately, this share does not pass by a single person: there are still no cures for old age. However, there are ageless people whom time seems to bypass. And the reason for this is not endless plastic surgery, but genetic anomalies, the nature of which scientists still cannot explain. It is about such people that you will learn from this article. Who are they, the ageless people of the planet?

Why do people get old?

Some people live to see others notice the first gray hair, barely celebrating their twentieth anniversary. Why it happens? The answer to this question is trying to give gerontology - the science of aging organisms.

Researchers believe that aging occurs due to the depletion of human gene resources. It is known that cells in the body are constantly updated by dividing. In this case, the chromosomes are first duplicated, after which copies are sent to new cells. Over time, as a result of such constant divisions, errors accumulate, which lead to decrepitude of the body. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to slow down this process. Tablets, special biologically active additives, healthy lifestyle life and the rejection of bad habits can only delay the onset of old age, but do not prevent it. However, sometimes inexplicable things happen: medicine describes ageless people, as if frozen in time.

Brooke Greenberg

Brooke Greenberg is a girl from America who lived in the body of a baby for 20 years of her life. Brooke's height reached only 76 centimeters, she weighed 7.6 kilograms. Brooke matched the development of a nine-month-old baby. The birth was quite difficult: Brooke was born prematurely, at birth her body weight barely reached 1.8 kilograms. Fortunately, the doctors managed to save the child.

Brooke is the fourth child of her parents - before her, three absolutely healthy girls. However, Brooke has never been in excellent health: she had several strokes, once she fell into a deep coma for two weeks. During this state, doctors discovered a tumor in the girl's brain, which, however, mysteriously disappeared when Brooke returned to consciousness.

Syndrome X

Of course, Brooke's parents tried to understand the cause of their daughter's strange illness. Numerous studies were carried out, which, unfortunately, did not give any result: Brooke's condition entered medicine under the name "Syndrome X".

Some researchers believed that the girl's genes held the key to immortality, and she may well live much longer than a common person. Her parents even noticed signs of development and growth in her. However, hopes were not destined to come true: on October 24, 2013, Brooke died in the same hospital where she was born. However, not all ageless people die, the disease, the name of which was never invented, takes life only in rare cases.

Yakov Tsiperovich: a man who does not age

The small German town of Halle is home to one of the most unusual people in the world This man is not subject to aging. Since Yakov experienced clinical death in 1979, his body seemed to start working in a new way. Surprisingly, but clinical death lasted more than an hour: it is known that brain cells begin to die just 5 minutes after the heart stops. However, Jacob came to his senses. Immediately after the incident, he could not sleep: as if some unknown force was throwing him out of bed. This one did not sleep for 16 years: Yakov was able to regain his ability to take a horizontal position only thanks to yoga and meditation. But this is not the most surprising. At 58, Tsiperovich looks like he's only 25.

Doctors have not found an explanation for this phenomenon. Some attribute the absence age-related changes with the fact that after the coma, Jacob's body temperature does not rise above 34 degrees. However, so far there is no evidence that low temperature body is associated with the ability not to age, not found. After all, other ageless people, whose illness could not be explained, did not possess such a property of the body.

Soso Lomidze: ageless thief in law

At the age of 15, Soso Lomilze was recognized as one of the most dexterous pickpockets in Georgia. However, the amazing achievements of this man were not limited to this. One day, people around noticed that Soso had stopped aging. At the age of 25, his early gray hair disappeared, a few wrinkles smoothed out. Soso even became smaller and lost weight. At the same time, Lomidze's mental abilities were not affected: he turned into a skilled criminal who hid in the body of a child. And thanks to his unusual appearance, Lomidze managed to achieve a lot: he even became a thief in law, which is a very honorable title in the underworld.

"Crime of the century": how a "boy" stole Shevardnadze's watch

Once Lomidze used his unusual appearance to “punish” Eduard Shevardnadze for the hard life he gave to Georgian thieves in law. This high-profile story happened on April 9, 1979. Shevardnadze, acting as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, decided to visit the Palace of Pioneers. Of course, it was not difficult for Lomidze to get lost among children and adolescents. When Shevardnadze stepped onto the red carpet, Soso rushed to meet him, shouting out words of gratitude for everything that the politician does for the republic. Moved by Shevardnadze, he lifted the "boy" into his arms and kissed him on the cheek. Despite the fact that the contact lasted only a couple of moments, Soso managed to appropriate the Swiss wristwatch of the honored guest. By the way, it was not just a watch: it was presented to Shevardnadze by the Union of Industrialists of Germany for his contribution to the withdrawal of a group of Soviet troops from the GDR.

The scandal turned out to be loud: Shevardnadze was disgraced throughout the republic. For this case, Soso Lomidze received the title of "thief in law." By the way, they called Lomidze "The Old Man": such is the uncomplicated thieves' sense of humor.

Unfortunately, for Lomidze self-rejuvenation was not in vain. At some point, he realized that he had lost the ability to be a man. Lomidze even turned for help to the healer Juna, who could not help in any way: ageless people cannot be cured due to her influence. We can say that you have to pay for everything, including eternal youth.

Ann Bolton: the woman who wants to look older

Now Ann Bolton is about 50 years old. At the same time, it is impossible to give her more than 25. Ann got married at 24 to her peer. When the couple turned 30, conflicts began in the family: Ann attracted the attention of young guys who had not yet graduated from college. Unfortunately, at the moment the marriage broke up: Anne's husband felt that there were too many gossip behind his back. After all, many believed that he married a young girl and looks just ridiculous.

Ann did not despair and married a second time. At first, the husband was pleased with the way his wife looked. But gradually he became irritated, tired of answering questions about whether Ann was his daughter or younger sister. Now the woman wants to do plastic surgery, which would help her look at "her" age. Anne Bolton considers it a real curse: the ageless people whose photos you see in the article are far from always happy that they are timeless ...

Such is eternal youth...

Aging is an inevitable process. Maybe one day it will be invented and people in their 80s will have smooth skin and untouched gray hair. However, until such a moment has come, it remains only to reconcile and appreciate even more every moment of your youth, which will never happen again. In addition, this article proves that not all ageless people in the world are happy because of their inexplicable property...