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Aging and Autoimmunity

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Immunosenescence

Part of the book series: Birkhäuser Advances in Infectious Diseases ((BAID))

Abstract

Human aging is associated with sharp increases in the frequency of degenerative diseases, autoimmune diseases, and cancer, and a multitude of physiological age changes occur in parallel. The differentiation between physiological aging and age-related diseases is exceedingly difficult, however, and the pathogenic mechanisms are incompletely understood, which complicates the characterization of the age-related changes which truly contribute to disease pathogenesis. The aging immune system is characterized by features which resemble autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The possible contribution of immunosenescence to autoimmunity and the mechanisms of both degeneration and possibly regeneration of the immune system are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine 2, University of Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 20, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Ulf Wagner

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  1. Ulf Wagner
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Correspondence to Ulf Wagner .

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  1. Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Berlin-Brandenburg Center for, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, Berlin, 13353, Germany

    Andreas Thiel

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© 2012 Springer Basel AG

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Wagner, U. (2012). Aging and Autoimmunity. In: Thiel, A. (eds) Immunosenescence. Birkhäuser Advances in Infectious Diseases. Springer, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0346-0219-8_7

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