Inflammation in aging part 1: physiology and immunological mechanisms
Inflammation in aging part 1: physiology and immunological mechanisms
During the aging process, remodeling of several body systems occurs, and these changes can have a startling effect upon the immune system. The reduction in sex steroids and growth hormones and declines in vitamin D concentration that accompany the aging process are associated with increases in the baseline levels of inflammatory proteins. At the same time, inflammation arising from atherosclerosis and other chronic diseases further contributes to the inflammatory milieu and effects a state of chronic inflammation. This chronic inflammation, or ‘‘inflammaging’’ as it has been termed, seems to be associated with a host of adverse effects contributing to many of the health problems that increase morbidity and decrease both quality of life and the ability to maintain independence in old age. For nurses to be truly informed when caring for older people and to ensure that they have a detailed understanding of the complexities of older people’s health needs, they must have a knowledge of the physiological and immunological changes with age. This is the first of a two-part article on inflammatory processes in aging. These age-related changes are presented here, including an examination of the impact of genetic and lifestyle factors. The effect of these changes on the health of the individual and implications for practice are described in Part 2.
aging, inflammation, IL-6, TNF-{alpha}, immune system
245-252
Hunt, Katherine J.
5eab8123-1157-4d4e-a7d9-5fd817218c6e
Walsh, Bronagh M.
5818243e-048d-4b4b-88c5-231b0e419427
Voegeli, David
e6f5d112-55b0-40c1-a6ad-8929a2d84a10
Roberts, Helen C.
5ea688b1-ef7a-4173-9da0-26290e18f253
1 January 2010
Hunt, Katherine J.
5eab8123-1157-4d4e-a7d9-5fd817218c6e
Walsh, Bronagh M.
5818243e-048d-4b4b-88c5-231b0e419427
Voegeli, David
e6f5d112-55b0-40c1-a6ad-8929a2d84a10
Roberts, Helen C.
5ea688b1-ef7a-4173-9da0-26290e18f253
Hunt, Katherine J., Walsh, Bronagh M., Voegeli, David and Roberts, Helen C.
(2010)
Inflammation in aging part 1: physiology and immunological mechanisms.
Biological Research for Nursing, 11 (3), .
(doi:10.1177/1099800409352237).
Abstract
During the aging process, remodeling of several body systems occurs, and these changes can have a startling effect upon the immune system. The reduction in sex steroids and growth hormones and declines in vitamin D concentration that accompany the aging process are associated with increases in the baseline levels of inflammatory proteins. At the same time, inflammation arising from atherosclerosis and other chronic diseases further contributes to the inflammatory milieu and effects a state of chronic inflammation. This chronic inflammation, or ‘‘inflammaging’’ as it has been termed, seems to be associated with a host of adverse effects contributing to many of the health problems that increase morbidity and decrease both quality of life and the ability to maintain independence in old age. For nurses to be truly informed when caring for older people and to ensure that they have a detailed understanding of the complexities of older people’s health needs, they must have a knowledge of the physiological and immunological changes with age. This is the first of a two-part article on inflammatory processes in aging. These age-related changes are presented here, including an examination of the impact of genetic and lifestyle factors. The effect of these changes on the health of the individual and implications for practice are described in Part 2.
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Published date: 1 January 2010
Keywords:
aging, inflammation, IL-6, TNF-{alpha}, immune system
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Local EPrints ID: 73584
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/73584
ISSN: 1099-8004
PURE UUID: 5691e875-44a7-4909-9544-469eda53617a
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Date deposited: 10 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:56
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Author:
David Voegeli
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