Association of epidermal function with inflammaging in the elderly / 中华皮肤科杂志

ABSTRACT

Aging-associated disorders include cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer′s disease and so on. Recent studies have demonstrated that aging-associated, low-grade inflammation, also termed inflammaging, contributes to the development of these disorders. However, the origin of inflammaging is still unclear. Some studies indicate that epidermal dysfunction may be the cause of inflammaging in the elderly. Compared with the young, the elderly show reduced water content of the stratum corneum, elevated skin surface pH and compromised epidermal permeability barrier homeostasis, which can all provoke cutaneous inflammation. Pruritus commonly occurs in the elderly, and pruritus-induced scratching can further perturb epidermal permeability barrier function and induce cutaneous inflammation. Sustained mild inflammation in the skin may lead to systemic inflammation. Recent studies in aged mice and humans have demonstrated that improvements in epidermal function can decrease inflammatory cytokine levels in peripheral blood, suggesting a pathogenic role of epidermal dysfunction in inflammaging in the elderly. Thus, improvements in epidermal function may be helpful for the prevention and remission of aging-associated disorders.