Immunology and Aging

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. Biology of Aging: Retrospect and Prospect

   • Takashi Makinodan

   Pages 1-7

3. Cellular Basis of Immunosenescence

   • Takashi Makinodan, Robert A. Good, Marguerite M. B. Kay

   Pages 9-22

4. The Pathogenic Role of Age-Related Immune Dysfunctions

   • W. Hijmans, C. F. Hollander

   Pages 23-33

5. The Immunoepidemiology of Aging

   • Ian R. Mackay, Senga F. Whittingham, John D. Mathews

   Pages 35-49

6. The Thymus and Aging

   • Katsuiku Hirokawa

   Pages 51-72

7. Hormones and Aging

   • Nicola Fabris

   Pages 73-89

8. Genetic, Developmental, and Evolutionary Aspects of Life Span

   • Jorge J. Yunis, Leonard J. Greenberg, Edmond J. Yunis

   Pages 91-101

9. Suppressor Cells in Aging

   • Richard K. Gershon, Charles M. Metzler

   Pages 103-110

10. Attempts to Correct Age-Related Immunodeficiency and Autoimmunity by Cellular and Dietary Manipulation in Inbred Mice

    • Gabriel Fernandes, Robert A. Good, Edmond J. Yunis

    Pages 111-133

11. High-Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy and Its Application to Research on Immunity and Aging

    • Marguerite M. B. Kay

    Pages 135-150

12. Immunological Responsiveness and Aging Phenomena in Germfree Mice

    • Robert E. Anderson, William E. Doughty, Gary M. Troup

    Pages 151-170

13. Congenitally Athymic (Nude) Mice and Their Application to the Study of Immunity and Aging

    • John W. Jutila

    Pages 171-182

14. Immunoengineering: Prospects for Correction of Age-Related Immunodeficiency States

    • Roy L. Walford, Patricia J. Meredith, Kay E. Cheney

    Pages 183-201

15. Back Matter

    Pages 203-208

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In the classic sense, immunity is the ability of an organism to resist disease. On the one hand, we must distinguish between age and disease; on the other hand, the interaction between them is of considerable theoretical and practical interest. To the gerontologic research community, therefore, immunity also becomes the ability of an organism to resist age. Were the immune and other protective systems of the body able to maintain themselves over the course of time, and if there were no degradation related to age, the everyday loss of energy and vitality that occurs in the lives of older people as a consequence of viruses, arthritis, and other debilitating circumstances would be greatly lessened. The objective of gerontologists is not just to extend the life span but rather to improve the vigor, health, and quality oflife. To date, we have not developed a single index to measure immunity that is of use clinically in the evaluation of older people and of their immunologic compe­ tence. It may not be surprising that just such a clinical index may be available in the not-too-distant future. We can also look forward to the assembling of a greater body of information explaining how and why the immune system fails with age while, paradoxically, the incidence of autoimmune diseases increases with age. It is this latter phenomenon that may playa part in a wide range of chronic diseases from rheumatoid arthritis to senile dementia.

• autoimmune disease
• diseases
• immune system
• immunity
• immunology

• Baltimore City Hospitals, Baltimore, USA

  Takashi Makinodan

• Veterans Administration Wadsworth Hospital Center, USA

  Takashi Makinodan

• University of California, Los Angeles, USA

  Takashi Makinodan

• Sidney Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA

  Edmond Yunis

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