Have you ever heard of immunosenescence? It actually relates to immune aging. Yes, our immune system also undergoes ageing process, not just our skin and body. It is already proven by science that once you reached the sixth decade of your life, your immune system will undergo dramatic ageing-related changes [1].
But that does not mean that you should only worry about the health of your immune system once you turned 60, because unhealthy lifestyles such as obesity, smoking and many other factors can also contribute to the progression of immunosenescence [2]. The decline could start surprisingly early in life, during puberty, and the progression can be accelerated by all kinds of lifestyle factors.
Many people might regard “immune aging” as a far-off threat, but it is a phenomenon that should concern us all. This is because aging immune system is associated with declining protective immunity combined with the deterioration of the body wound healing performance [1]. Cells that undergo senescence will stop dividing but also refuse to die. These senescence cells tend to build up in our body as we aged, leading to the symptoms of aging and increasing the risks of getting various kinds of diseases [3].
Apart from that, the immune cells in our body will start to lose its efficacy. Aged immune cells tend to be slower than normal, thus giving more time for foreign particles such as virus and bacteria to infect and cause further damage to the organs in the body. For this reason, many kinds of diseases are much more likely to happen among the older generation, such as cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, cancer and many other.
Early preventative measures need to be done to make sure that our immune system is functioning well. With the advancement of technology, immunotherapy was discovered and proven to be of particular value in anti-aging purposes. The kind of immunotherapy that uses activated Natural Killer (NK) cells and T cells are very good for internal detoxing since these cells specializes in killing senescence, mutated and virus infected cells. This modern advancement is said to have significantly contributed to extending the global life expectancy [3]. We are truly living in the exciting times where older generations have more therapeutic opportunities to explore than ever before.
References:
- Weyand CM, Goronzy JJ. Aging of the Immune System. Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targets. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2016 Dec;13 Suppl 5(Suppl 5):S422-S428. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.201602-095AW. PMID: 28005419; PMCID: PMC5291468.
- de Frel DL, Atsma DE, Pijl H, Seidell JC, Leenen PJM, Dik WA, van Rossum EFC. The Impact of Obesity and Lifestyle on the Immune System and Susceptibility to Infections Such as COVID-19. Front Nutr. 2020 Nov 19;7:597600. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2020.597600. PMID: 33330597; PMCID: PMC7711810.
- Hamilton, Jamie A.G.; Henry, Curtis J. (2020). Aging and immunotherapies: New horizons for the golden ages. Aging and Cancer, 1(1-4), 30–44. doi:10.1002/aac2.12014