Health Hotline Magazine | September 2022

OW IS THE TIME TO REJUVENATE AN AGING IMMUNE SYSTEM By Lindsay Wilson

Have you ever wondered why older folks are more vulnerable to infections, or have a harder time fighting them? Why a virus like SARS-CoV-2 or the flu can kill an older adult, while only causing minor symptoms in someone younger? It’s called immunosenescence, and in simple terms, it’s the aging of the immune system. It leads to a decline in immune function and is a hallmark of aging, with the potential to cause damage and dysfunction throughout the body. Senescent cells are alive and metabolically active, but are no longer capable of dividing and functioning in a normal way. They evade the body’s natural process of disposing of damaged cells, lingering around secreting inflammatory compounds, increasing inflammation and damaging neighboring cells. According to In short, immunosenescence leads to a decline in immune function, while also increasing inflammation and the risk for developing a number of diseases associated with aging, including autoimmune diseases and cancer. But as one research paper put it, aging is a malleable process and can be influenced by outside factors. Indeed, immunosenescence is strongly influenced by diet, nutrition, and other lifestyle factors like exercise. Senescence \si-ne-sns\ n: the state of being old; the process of becoming old research published in 2021 in the journal Nature , senescent immune cells are among some of the most harmful senescent cells because they are found throughout the body, exposing organs and tissues to inflammation and triggering senescence in other cells, overall, pushing the aging process into overdrive.

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