Why is Sepsis a Condition of the Elderly?

Sepsis and consequent septic shock occur more frequently in the old and cause greater harm and mortality in older individuals. The condition occurs when an infection spurs the immune system into a state of runaway inflammation and then shutdown, sufficient to disrupt or permanently damage metabolism and organ function. The open access paper here dives into the details of age-related immune system dysfunction, with an eye to explaining why exactly these failures cause sepsis to be both worse and more prevalent in the elderly. As for so many of the specific frailties of old age, the best solution is to repair the immune system - to address the specific, most important root causes of its decline, such as failing blood stem cells, atrophy of the thymus, and accumulation of malfunctioning or overspecialized immune cells. The treatment of critically ill aged patients is challenging. Older people frequently exhibit atypical symptomatology, due to comorbidities and dysfunctions throughout all body systems that are related to the aging process. Sepsis is a disease of the elderly. The incidence of sepsis increases exponentially with age, and sepsis-associated long-term sequelae particularly affect older patients. Sepsis survivors are at substantial risk for poor quality of life, functional disability, and cognitive impairment. As advances in medicine and quality of life extend the life expectancy worldwide, a growing number of aged patients need critical care. A recent study d...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs