Biological Markers Changes at the Very Early Stage of Ageing (60-65 Years). Is There a Gender-Related Effect?

Abstract

Aging has been associated with progressive molecular and structural changes causing loss of function in several organs. There is a general hypothesis that very old individuals suffer profound modifications where different domains (immune, metabolic and cognitive) loose the tight functional interconnection present in younger bodies. However, it is not clear how this interconnection is affected at the very early stage of ageing and whether gender plays a role. Therefore, our aim was to evaluate some biological markers in non-institutionalized “healthy individuals” at the very early stage of aging (60 to 65 years old, female and male). Blood was collected and serum creatinine, albumin and glucose were measured. In addition, we evaluated these individuals for lymphocytes phenotype (T CD4+, T CD8+, CD19+) by flow cytometry in peripheral mononuclear blood cells. It was observed that at the early stage of ageing male present higher creatinine and albumin serum levels compared to female. In addition, male had higher percentages of effector memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and lower percentages of naive CD8+ T cells. No differences were observed for B cells. These findings suggest that metabolic functions and immune system are compromised in male individuals at the very early stage of ageing and thus gender differences should be considered for the design of new therapies to the elderly.