Researchers discover the immune system's ‘fountain of youth' - but it has a cost
Some people over 60 years old were found to have immune systems that appear to much younger in wear-and-tear, Mayo Clinic researchers announced Thursday. The immune system is what protects us from getting sick and promotes healing. With age, the immune system's ability to protect the body from infection and disease can wane. Young immune systems are constantly exposed to new bacteria and viruses, and previous research has shown that infant immune systems beat those of adults at fighting off the invaders.
Researchers now say some have immune systems that don't match their age.
"We observed that these patients have very young immune systems despite being in their 60s and 70s,' Dr. Cornelia Weyand, a Mayo Clinic rheumatologist and clinician-scientist, said in a statement. 'But the price they pay for that is autoimmunity.'
Autoimmunity is what happens when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues and organs. There are more than 100 known autoimmune diseases, according to the Cleveland Clinic, including lupus, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, celiac disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Women are at a higher risk than men, thanks to genetic and hormonal differences, according to Stanford Medicine.
Doctors discovered this anomaly in more than 100 older patients who went to the Minnesota clinic to receive treatment for a rare autoimmune disease known as giant cell arteritis.
Giant cell arteritis is an inflammation of the lining of your arteries that can affect the arteries in your head, the clinic explained. Untreated, it can lead to blindness, an aortic aneurysm, and, less commonly, stroke. It frequently causes headaches, jaw pain and vision problems. What causes the disorder remains unknown.
Studying the diseased tissue of these patients, the researchers found they had specialized cells in their immune system known as 'stem-like T cells.' The cells behave like young stem cells, which are critical for repairing and maintaining a healthy immune system. But, in this case, they were spreading the autoimmune disease.
Going forward, the scientists hope to learn more about this link and what they observed from the patients.
"Contrary to what one may think, there are benefits to having an immune system that ages in tandem with the body," Dr. Jörg Goronzy, a Mayo Clinic researcher on aging, said. "We need to consider the price to pay for immune youthfulness. That price can be autoimmune disease."
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