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Physiology of Aging

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Geriatric Medicine

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Abstract

With aging, there is an apparent depletion of physiologic reserves that has been termed homeostenosis. When the reserves are depleted, the older adult is intolerant of further challenges without crossing a precipice, that is, frailty. However, in the absence of a challenge, many of the age-related changes are not clinically apparent. The reserves are, in part, in use just to maintain homeostasis, and studies that measure how much they are in use, allostatic load, can predict age-associated outcomes. Inflammation at low levels and associated with age may be a driver of many of these processes. Because aging is experienced in diverse fashion, the heterogeneity of older adults is great and the differences between the aging of men and women are being increasingly recognized. Similarly, the heterogeneity in the loss of reserves among older adults contributes to their nonspecific presentations on illness. Understanding the fundamental age-related changes allows us to appreciate the unique population that older adults create.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geriatrics and Cardiovascular Research, Houston Methodist Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    George E. Taffet

Authors
  1. George E. Taffet
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to George E. Taffet .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. California Association of Long Term Care Medicine, Newbury Park, CA, USA

    Michael R. Wasserman

  2. Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA

    Debra Bakerjian

  3. Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aurora, CO, USA

    Sunny Linnebur

  4. Division of Geriatrics, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Sharon Brangman

  5. Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Matteo Cesari

  6. Section of Geriatric Medicine, Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, CA, USA

    Sonja Rosen

Section Editor information

  1. California Association of Long Term Care Medicine, Newbury Park, CA, USA

    Michael R. Wasserman M.D., CMD

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Taffet, G.E. (2024). Physiology of Aging. In: Wasserman, M.R., Bakerjian, D., Linnebur, S., Brangman, S., Cesari, M., Rosen, S. (eds) Geriatric Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74720-6_103

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74720-6_103

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-74719-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-74720-6

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