Clinical Interventions in Aging (Dec 2019)
Could Inflammaging and Its Sequelae Be Prevented or Mitigated?
Abstract
Mao-Qiang Man,1,2 Peter M Elias2 1Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510091, People’s Republic of China; 2Dermatology Services, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94121, USACorrespondence: Mao-Qiang ManDermatology Service (190), 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121, USATel +1 415 575-0539Fax +1 415 750-2106Email [email protected]: Aged humans display a chronic and low-grade inflammation, termed “inflammaging”, which has been potentially linked to the subsequent development of some aging-associated systemic disorders, including type 2 diabetes, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and obesity. Though the origin of aging-associated systemic inflammation is uncertain, epidemiological studies show that inflammatory dermatoses (psoriasis and eczema) are risk factors for some aging-associated systemic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Moreover, recent studies demonstrate that epidermal dysfunction in aged skin not only causes cutaneous inflammation, but also a subsequent increase in circulating levels of proinflammatory cytokines, suggesting that the skin could be a major contributor to inflammaging. This hypothesis is further supported by reductions in circulating levels of proinflammatory cytokines in both aged humans and murine, following improvements in epidermal function with topical emollients. Therefore, correction of epidermal dysfunction could be a novel approach for the prevention and mitigation of certain inflammation-associated chronic disorders in aged humans.Keywords: aging, inflammation, inflammaging, epidermis, systemic disorders
