Quantitative and qualitative alterations of acute-phase proteins in healthy elderly persons

To assess acute-phase proteins in relation to ageing, we measured serum concentrations of C-reactive protein of AGP in 131 healthy elderly individuals (aged >/= 65 years) living independently in the community, and 47 healthy younger individuals. Concentrations of CRP in the older persons (median = 3.0 microg/ml) were significantly greater than in the younger group (median = 0.9 microg/ml, p = 0. 0003). Concentrations of SAA and AGP were similar in the two groups, but AGP glycosylation forms with reduced binding affinity for concanavalin-A (changes that have been observed in chronic inflammatory states) were increased in the elderly sample (p<0.0001). These findings suggest that both quantitative and qualitative alterations of acute-phase proteins occur with physiological ageing in humans.