Insights into ageing processes
Ageing is a gradual and progressive deterioration of integrity across the body [1]. With age, wrinkles appear, the stomach sags and the hair goes gray [2]. Increasing age may also mean a higher likelihood of immunosenescence age-related changes to the immune system, less biological reserve, and co-morbidities [3,4]. Since not everyone ages at the same rate, chronological and biological ages may be different [1].
Patients with MS seem to be susceptible to accelerated biological ageing [5-7] and so may be ‘older’ than their years [5]. For instance, a study from Germany found shorter telomere length (a marker of biological ageing) in people with MS compared with healthy controls across all stages of the disease [5].
Factors that may contribute to this accelerated ageing in MS include:
- immunosenescence [3,4,6]
- co-morbidities [8,9]
- lifestyle factors [10,11].
Lifestyle factors
References
- Belsky DW et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2015; 112(30): e4104-10. Return to content
- Cohen HV. J N J Dent Assoc 2016; 87(3): 18-19. Return to content
- Vaughn CB et al. Nat Rev Neurol 2019; 15(6): 329-42. Return to content
- Schweitzer F et al. Curr Opin Neurol 2019; 32(3): 305-12. Return to content
- Habib R et al. J Neuroimmunol 2020; 341: 577187. Return to content
- Mills EA, Mao-Draayer Y. Mult Scler 2018; 24(8): 1014-22. Return to content
- Høgestøl EA et al. Front Neurol 2019; 10: 450. Return to content
- Marrie RA et al. Nat Rev Neurol 2017; 13(6): 375-82. Return to content
- Marrie RA et al. Mult Scler 2012; 18(9): 1310-19. Return to content
- Krysko KM et al. Ann Neurol 2019; 86(5): 671-82. Return to content
- Dalgas U et al. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 2019; 19(11): 88. Return to content
