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Chronic Inflammation: Accelerator of Biological Aging
Bertrand Fougère1,2, Eric Boulanger3, Fati Nourhashémi1,2
1Gérontopôle, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
Summary
Biological aging involves chronic inflammation, known as inflamm-aging, a key risk factor for age-related diseases and mortality. Understanding inflamm-aging pathways is crucial for improving health outcomes in older adults.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Immunology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Biological aging is associated with chronic, low-grade inflammation termed "inflamm-aging."
- Inflamm-aging is a significant risk factor for morbidity and mortality in older populations.
- It is implicated in numerous age-related diseases, including Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the pathways controlling age-related inflammation across multiple biological systems.
- To explore the causal role of inflamm-aging in adverse health outcomes.
- To synthesize current knowledge on the mechanisms driving inflamm-aging.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of scientific publications on aging and inflammation.
- Analysis of key theories of inflamm-aging, including redox stress and immune deregulation.
- Identification of molecular and cellular pathways involved in age-related inflammation.
Main Results:
- Common theories of inflamm-aging involve redox stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, glycation, immune system deregulation, hormonal changes, epigenetic modifications, and telomere attrition.
- Inflamm-aging contributes to the initiation and progression of diseases like type II diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease, frailty, sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and cancer.
- Multiple interconnected pathways across various systems drive age-related inflammation.
Conclusions:
- Inflamm-aging is a central biological process linked to aging and disease.
- Targeting inflamm-aging pathways may offer therapeutic strategies for age-related conditions.
- Further research into the systemic control of age-related inflammation is warranted.
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