"Viruses, bacteria, parasites, and other microbes stimulate our immune system to produce protective factors, such as antibodies. But these microbes also cause our immune system to release chemical signals that can damage tissues if they persist too long. Sometimes our immune system is unable to rid our body of a microbe. In that situation, the microbe can linger silently in cells or tissues, re-emerging later in life, as is common with herpes simplex virus and tuberculosis bacteria."
"Infections can accelerate nearly every hallmark of biological aging. They cause chronic inflammation, shorten the protective caps on our chromosomes called telomeres, alter how genes are switched on and off, and trigger cells into a state of permanent dysfunction known as senescence. These are the same processes that drive frailty, dementia, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. For example, human herpesvirus-6 can integrate directly into telomeres, leading to shorter and less stable chromosomes."
Each infection leaves lasting biological changes that can persist silently and re-emerge later in life. Immune responses produce protective factors like antibodies but also release prolonged chemical signals that damage tissues. Persistent microbes and repeated infections drive chronic inflammation, shorten telomeres, alter gene regulation, and induce cellular senescence. Those processes accelerate fundamental hallmarks of aging and increase risks of frailty, dementia, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Specific pathogens can integrate into chromosomes or activate inflammatory pathways, further destabilizing cellular function. Reducing infections through vaccination, masking, and other prevention could lower lifetime biological age and disease risk.
Read at Psychology Today
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