ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

Over the last decades aging has become a major concern for both medical professionals and policy makers. European Commission has been launching a series of initiatives aimed at drawing attention to great social, political and economic importance of aging research and at finding as well as disseminating the best practices in order to attain a very important objective: to add two years of healthy live to people in Europe by 2020. Nevertheless, there is still controversy regarding the accepted age limit for older people and also concerning various aspects of aging and aging research, most important being the difficulty of correlating chronological age to biological age. A new perspective is suggested and this might help scientists and clinicians understand better the problems of old age and could facilitate targeting research and medical strategies to the most appropriate goals. Several very important projects in the field of aging, funded by European Commission, are presented and a novel approach to the specific situation of older people is offered.

Researches on ageing phenomenon offer significant information regarding the consequences of stressors on immune system that affects longevity in the elderly. Immunosenescence has become the most common immunodeficiency state in humans, occurring in over 30% of community - dwelling elderly, and greater than 90% of elderly who are ill, taking medication, or residing in longterm care facilities. Immunosenescence may reflect tandem changes in neuroendocrine responses. There are several agingrelated changes in cortisol, DHEA and catecholamines, which are considered to set up a “vicious cycle of endocrinosenescence and immuno-senescence”. The low-level, chronic increase in innate, inflammatory response observed in older adults ultimately results in tissue damage and disease; the key inflammatory mediators in this process are CRP, nuclear factor (NF)-kB, IL-1-beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase. Further, glucocorticoid inhibition of IL-6 production was observed to be lower in older compared to younger men following psychological stress. There are individual differences that protect aged people from stressors and strains, and it will be important to identify biological mechanisms of protection and those at risk who might benefit from early behavioral interventions.