Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2026
09:37
A Phenotyping Regimen for Genetically Modified Mice Used to Study Genes Implicated in Human Diseases of Aging
Published on: July 14, 2016
Immune therapy for age-related diseases
Marc E Weksler1, Graham Pawelec, Claudio Franceschi
1Department of Medicine, Weill-Cornell Medical College, NY 10065, USA. weksler@med.cornell.edu
Trends in Immunology
|June 23, 2009
Summary
As people live longer, diseases linked to aging like shingles, Alzheimer's, and cardiovascular disease are increasing. Understanding immune senescence offers new ways to prevent and treat these conditions, with vaccines showing promise.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Gerontology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Global life expectancy is rising, leading to an increase in age-related diseases.
- Immune senescence, or the decline of the immune system with age, is a key factor in these diseases.
- Shingles, Alzheimer's disease, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease are major health concerns associated with aging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the immunological aspects of major diseases of aging.
- To explore the potential of immune interventions for preventing and treating these conditions.
- To highlight the role of vaccination in managing age-related diseases.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on immune senescence and age-related diseases.
- Analysis of the immunological components in the etiology and progression of shingles, Alzheimer's disease, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
- Examination of clinical evidence for immune interventions, particularly vaccination.
Main Results:
- Shingles, Alzheimer's disease, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease all have significant immunological links.
- Immune intervention strategies, especially vaccination, show potential for prevention and treatment.
- Vaccination has already proven effective in reducing shingles incidence.
Conclusions:
- Targeting immune senescence is a promising strategy to combat age-related diseases.
- Vaccines represent a viable approach for preventing and potentially treating conditions like shingles, Alzheimer's disease, and cardiovascular disease.
- Further research into immune interventions could significantly impact public health in aging populations.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients
Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...
01:27Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age
Age-related pharmacokinetic changes are extensively documented, but understanding age-related pharmacodynamic alterations is relatively limited. This knowledge gap can be partly attributed to the complexity of developing appropriate measures of drug responses compared to bioanalytical methods for determining drug concentrations.Most information regarding age-related differences in human pharmacodynamics originates from cross-sectional studies. However, these studies assume that observed mean...
01:18Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Metabolism
Geriatric patients show significant variation in how their bodies process medications, which can change how effective and safe treatments are. The liver is the primary organ where drug metabolism occurs, involving two main types of chemical reactions: phase I and II. Phase I metabolism is driven by the cytochrome P450 enzyme system, which includes key types such as CYP3A, CYP2D6, and CYP2C9. Research indicates that while aging doesn't notably alter the levels or activity of these enzymes, it...
01:27Tumor Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a treatment that boosts or manipulates the immune system to fight diseases, including cancer. For instance, by stimulating an immune response through vaccinations against viruses that cause cancers, like hepatitis B virus and human papillomavirus, these diseases can be prevented. Nonetheless, some cancer cells can avoid the immune system due to their rapid mutation and division. The immune response to many cancers involves three phases: elimination, equilibrium, and escape.
01:22Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Absorption
As individuals age, their body's physiology evolves, affecting drug pharmacokinetics. The most apparent changes occur in the gastrointestinal tract, where an increase in gastric pH, a delay in gastric emptying, and a reduction in gastrointestinal motility are observed. Remarkably, these changes do not substantially modify the absorption of orally administered drugs, particularly those absorbed via passive diffusion.Transdermal drug delivery emerges as a highly viable method for older adults due...
01:00Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Distribution
Drug distribution in the human body is influenced by several factors, including plasma protein concentration, body composition, blood flow, tissue-protein concentration, and tissue fluid pH. Among these, changes in plasma protein concentration and body composition due to aging significantly affect how drugs are distributed within the body. Specifically, aging is associated with a decrease in albumin levels by about 10% and an increase in α1-acid glycoprotein levels. These alterations are not...