The Immune-Inflammatory Responses in the Elderly
Merve Arı1, Mehtap Odabaşı2, Oytun Erbaş3
1KTO Karatay University, Vocational School of Health Services, Konya, Turkey
2Republic Of Türkiye Ministry of Agriculture And Forestry, İstanbul Food Control Laboratory Directorate, İstanbul, Turkey
3ERBAS Institute of Experimental Medicine, Illinois, USA & Gebze, Turkey
Keywords: Aging, immune system, immunity, infection, inflammation
Abstract
Aging is a series of processes that are controlled by a genetic sequence and cause structural and functional changes in the organism that eventually cause it to die. Population aging is a global problem. With the rapid increase in the average life expectancy in the second half of the 20th century in developed countries, geriatric diseases are more common and become a substantial subject of research. The immune system's weakening and consequent deficiencies are among the most well-known adverse effects of aging. The clinical course, laboratory findings, microbiological epidemiology, treatment, and infection management of infections in the elderly are not only more frequent and severe but also have unique characteristics. Several age-related physiological and anatomical changes, malnutrition, epidemiological variables, and greater sensitivity can all be attributed. Also, while aging can be the cause of infection, the infection can also be the cause of aging. Explaining this situation will enable us to effectively combat possible viral epidemics from now on. In this review, the impact of aging on health was explained, as well as the precautions that should be taken to prevent immune system diseases as people age.
Cite this article as: Arı M, Odabaşı M, Erbaş O. The Immune-Inflammatory Responses in the Elderly. JEB Med Sci 2022;3(2):140-147.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.