Pathology of Ageing - Essay Example

Pathology of Ageing 2008 Pathology of Ageing The current tendency toward the continued increase in the numbers of elderly in the UK and other countries was forecasted long time ago. Thus, in the UK, along with an 8% growth in overall population, the proportion of young people has dropped from 25% in 1971 to 19% in 2005; at the same time 16% of the UK population are now 65 or older (compared with 13% in 1971), with the percentage of those aged 85 and over rising from 7% in 1971 to 12% in 2005 (Martin, & Sheaff, 2007 The increase of the elderly population - an inevitable outcome of the aging tendency - has considerable implications for the healthcare practices with care professionals increasingly involved in working with aging patients. Therefore, understanding of the differences that distinguish the elderly from the younger patients has turned vital in the modern health care practices. Knowledge of the basic mechanisms and peculiarities of the aging process contribute seriously to the provision of optimal geriatric care. A considerable body of evidence is now available to show that the process of aging is largely due to molecular damage caused by reactive oxygen species, electrophiles, and other reactive endobiotic and xenobiotic metabolites (McEwen et al. 2005). Ageing is associated with the degeneration of functional capacity in all parts of the body, and at all levels of organisation from molecules to complete organ systems. These functional changes are referred to as senescence. Both genetic and environmental factors govern senescence, although the precise mechanisms and the extent of their involvement are largely unknown. Senescence changes may themselves be responsible for certain diseases and disabilities associated with old age, or they may be a contributory factor and increase a person's susceptibility to some diseases. The latter is the case with the most commonly encountered causes of morbidity and mortality today, namely atherosclerosis and cancer (Mera 1992). Quality of life of elderly patients depends more on ageing-related disease than solely on chronological characteristics. 'Natural' transformations in the status of the organism during the process of ageing, such as the changes in the immune, cardiovascular and endocrine systems (Martin, & Sheaff 2007), occur simultaneously with abnormal pathological processes associated with variety of age-related diseases, such as wear and tear of skin, muscles, and skeleton (Freemon, & Hoyland 2007), cardiovascular system (Greenwald 2007), etc. These two types of changes interact closely in various types of age-related diseases such as hearing loss, noise damage, skin damage, hypertension, increased body mass index, etc (Martin, & Sheaff 2007). The process of ageing is associated with changes in the human brain at the macroscopic and microscopic levels. Although the recent studies have found that loss of neurons in ageing persons is more modest than many past studies suggested and is limited to only some neuron populations, the reduction in the size of remaining neurons has been revealed as well as a reduced size of dendritic and axonal arborizations (Esiri 2007). Electrical activities of the brain change notably as the person growth older. The changes are observed primarily in a-rhythm of the brain and they do not depend on the absence or presence of any physical disorders or diseases (Birren et al., 1963). Serious cognitive changes are associated with ageing. Various cognitive abilities demonstrate different patterns of change over the process of normal aging (Schaie, 1994). The most common changes occur to reaction time, the overall speed of information processing, and reduction in visuospatial and motor control abilities, memory, and attention, particularly the ability to divide one's attention, to shift focus rapidly, and to deal with complex situations (APA, 2003). Cognitive functions that are better preserved with age include learning, language and vocabulary skills, reasoning, and other skills that rely primarily on stored information and knowledge. Typically, seniors remain capable of new learning though slower than people at younger age. Any observable changes in executive abilities are commonly predictive of functional disability (Royall, Chiodo, & Polk, 2000). A range of factors influence both lifetime levels of cognitive achievement and patterns of maintenance or decline in intellectual performance in late adulthood, including genetic, constitutional, health, sensory, affective and other variables. Sensory impairments, especially those related to hearing and vision, often substantially limit elder adults' intellectual functioning and ability to interact with their environments (Baltes & Lindenberger, 1997). Many of the illnesses and chronic physical conditions that are common in late adulthood tend to have substantial impacts on particular aspects of cognition, as do many of the medications used to treat them. Accumulation of these factors may produce a noticeable decline that elder adults experience in intellectual functioning, as opposed to the normal process of growing old. In addition to sensory integrity and physical health, psychological factors such as affective state, sense of control and self-efficacy, coupled with active use of information processing strategies and continued practice of existing mental skills may influence elder adults' level of cognitive performance (APA, 2003). At the cellular level the process of ageing is associated with chromosomal, nucleic acid, protein and other changes (Terman et al. 2007). The pathways involved in these changes have recently been discovered to have common features with disease processes. This discovery is very essential for it enables the researchers to identify and describe some mechanisms that play the key role in the interaction between which natural and abnormal ageing-related changes. Specifically, the interactions between environment, nutrition, disease and the process of ageing have become the focal point of research intended to reveal the basic mechanisms of the pathogenesis of age-related disorders (Martin, & Sheaff 2007). The life expectancy of the UK population has substantially increased over the last decade, largely due to changes in the principal causes of death. These days, people have more chances to die of ageing-related diseases rather than of the infectious diseases which has turned into more common causes of death in younger population (Mera 1992). Therefore, better understanding of ageing-related processes and mechanisms at various levels will definitely contribute to further advancement in effective/intervention to prevent ageing-related diseases. References American Psychological Association (2003). Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Older Adults. Birren, J., Butler, R. N. Greenhouse, S., & Sokolov, N. (eds.) 1963, "Human Ageing: A Biological and Behavioural Study", U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Public Health Service Publication, No. 86, pp. 328. Esiri, M. M. 2007, "Ageing and the brain", Journal of Pathology, No. 211, pp. 181-187. Freemont, A. J., Hoyland, J. A. 2007, "Morphology, mechanisms and pathology of musculoskeletal ageing", Journal of Pathology, No. 211, pp. 252-259. Greenwald, S. E. 2007, "Ageing of the conduit arteries", Journal of Pathology, No.211, pp. 157-172. Martin, J.E., & Sheaff, M.T. 2007, "The pathology of ageing: concepts and mechanisms", Journal of Pathology, No. 211, pp. 111-113. McEwen, J. E., Zimniak, P., Mehta, J.L., Reis, R. J. 2005, "Molecular pathology of aging and its implications for senescent coronary atherosclerosis", Current Opinions in Cardiology, Vol. 20, No. 5, pp. 399-406. Mera, S. L. 1992, "Senescence and pathology in ageing", Medical Laboratory Sciences, Vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 271-82. Royall, D. R., Chiodo, L. K., & Polk, M. J. 2000, "Correlates of disability among elderly retirees with "subclinical" cognitive impairment", Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 55A, M541-M546. Schaie, K. W. 1994, "The course of adult intellectual development", American Psychologist, No. 49, pp. 304-313. Terman, A., Gustafsson, B., Brunk, U.T. 2007, "Autophagy, organelles and ageing", Journal of Pathology, No. 211, pp.134-143. Read More