Rheumatology in Geriatrics

Normal aging is associated with changes in both arms of the immune system, namely, cell-mediated immunity and humoral immunity.1 In the former, after appropriate activation, T lymphocytes, whether helper T cells (Th), suppressor T cells (Ts), or cytotoxic T cells (TCTL), proliferate and perform their various functions; in the latter, B lymphocytes, after appropriate activation, eventually synthesize and secrete antibodies.2 The two best studied age-related changes are the diminished T-cell-dependent immune responses to foreign antigens and the increase in the incidence of autoantibodies.