Ginaldi L, De Martinis M, D'Ostilio A, Marini L, Loreto M F, Quaglino D
Department of Internal Medicine and Public Health, University of L'Aquila, Italy.
Aging (Milano). 1999 Oct;11(5):281-6. doi: 10.1007/BF03339801.
Immunosenescence is a complex remodelling of the immune system which may contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Much evidence suggests an association between immune function and longevity. It was advanced that individuals who have survived in good health to the maximum life span are equipped with optimal cell defense mechanisms. Despite the great number of studies on the immune system in the elderly, little is known of the biological basis of immunosenescence in humans. This is partly due to the contrasting results often obtained by the various investigators. One source of discrepancy is that diseases are frequent in aging, and the alterations observed in the immune parameters of the elderly could be a cause or alternatively a consequence of the underlying pathological processes. Undoubtedly some diseases to which aged people are particularly susceptible, such as infectious, autoimmune and neoplastic pathologies, include dysregulation of several immune functions in their pathogenesis. On the other hand, recent studies in healthy centenarians suggest that the immunological changes observed during aging are consistent with a reshaping, rather than a generalized deterioration, of the main immune functions. Considering that the number of old people is dramatically increasing, and that geriatric pathology is becoming an important aspect of clinical practice, it seems particularly interesting to review the peculiar findings in the immune system of the elderly so as to better understand their susceptibility to certain diseases, and the links between health and longevity.
免疫衰老指免疫系统的复杂重塑，这可能在很大程度上导致老年人发病和死亡。大量证据表明免疫功能与寿命之间存在关联。有人提出，健康活到最大寿命的个体具备最佳的细胞防御机制。尽管针对老年人免疫系统的研究众多，但对于人类免疫衰老的生物学基础却知之甚少。部分原因在于不同研究者常常得出相互矛盾的结果。差异的一个来源是衰老过程中疾病频发，老年人免疫参数的改变可能是潜在病理过程的原因，也可能是其结果。毫无疑问，老年人特别易患的一些疾病，如感染性、自身免疫性和肿瘤性疾病，在其发病机制中包括多种免疫功能失调。另一方面，近期对健康百岁老人的研究表明，衰老过程中观察到的免疫变化与主要免疫功能的重塑一致，而非普遍衰退。鉴于老年人数量急剧增加，老年病学正成为临床实践的一个重要方面，回顾老年人免疫系统的特殊发现，以便更好地理解他们对某些疾病的易感性以及健康与长寿之间的联系，似乎特别有意义。
