Chronic Inflammation as Proximate Cause of a Large Fraction of Age-Related Disease

This popular science article discusses at length the chronic inflammation that is characteristic of the old, and its role as a proximate cause of age-related disease. Inflammation is a necessary part of the immune response to injury and pathogens, and when present in the short term it is vital to the proper operation of bodily systems. But when the immune system runs awry in later life, and inflammatory processes are constantly running, then this inflammation corrodes metabolism, tissue function, and health. The causes of excess, constant inflammation are both internal and external to the immune system. Internally, the supply of new immune cells falls off with age as the thymus atrophies and hematopoietic stem cell populations decline; this leads to an immune system made up of increasingly damaged, malfunctioning cells. Externally, much of the inflammation of aging is the result of signals secreted by lingering senescent cells, and removal of this inflammation is a primary reason why senolytic therapies produce rejuvenation and longevity when tested in animal models. Addressing these causes of inflammation will be an important aspect of rejuvenation therapies in the years ahead. In 2007, researchers already knew that exercise reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease as much as cholesterol-lowering statin drugs do. By analyzing biomarkers in the blood of 27,055 women participating in a long-term study, and other objective measures, they hoped to tease out how...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs