Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Feb;27(1):79-87.
doi: 10.1016/j.cger.2010.08.002.

Inflammation and immune system alterations in frailty

Xu Yao  1 , Huifen Li, Sean X Leng
Affiliations

Inflammation and immune system alterations in frailty

Xu Yao et al. Clin Geriatr Med. 2011 Feb.

Abstract

Frailty is an important geriatric syndrome characterized by multisystem dysregulation. Substantial evidence suggests heightened inflammatory state and significant immune system alterations in frailty. A heightened inflammatory state is marked by increases in levels of inflammatory molecules (interleukin 6 and C-reactive protein) and counts of white blood cell and its subpopulations, which may play an important role in the pathogenesis of frailty, directly or through its detrimental influence on other physiologic systems. Alterations in the innate immune system include decreased proliferation of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells and upregulated monocytic expression of specific stress-responsive inflammatory pathway genes. In the adaptive immune system, although little information is available about potential B-cell changes, significant alterations have been identified in the T-cell compartment, including increased counts of CD8+, CD8+CD28-, CCR5+T cells, above and beyond age-related senescent immune remodeling.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Inflammation and Immune System Alterations in Frailty
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Fried LP, Tangen C, Walston J, Newman A, Hirsch CH, Gottdiener JS, Seeman T, Tracy R, Kop WJ, Burke G, McBurnie MA. Frailty in Older Adults: Evidence for a Phenotype. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2001 March;56A(3):M1–M11. - PubMed
    1. Fried LP, Hadley EC, Walston JD, Newman A, Guralnik JM, Studenski S, Harris TB, Ershler WB, Ferrucci L. From bedside to bench: research agenda for frailty. Sci Aging Knowledge Environ. 2005 August 3;2005(31):e24. - PubMed
    1. Walston J, Hadley EC, Ferrucci L, Guralnik JM, Newman AB, Studenski SA, Ershler WB, Harris T, Fried LP. Research agenda for frailty in older adults: toward a better understanding of physiology and etiology: summary from the American Geriatrics Society/National Institute on Aging Research Conference on Frailty in Older Adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2006 June;54(6):991–1001. - PubMed
    1. Lipsitz LA. Dynamics of stability: the physiologic basis of functional health and frailty. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2002;57(3):115–25. - PubMed
    1. Bandeen-Roche K, Xue QL, Ferrucci L, Walston J, Guralnik JM, Chaves P, Zeger SL, Fried LP. Phenotype of frailty: characterization in the women's health and aging studies. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2006;61(3):262–6. - PubMed

Publication types