Why do we age? What exactly happens in the body? And: Can something be done about it? These are questions that have occupied science since time immemorial. The pharmacists Alexandra K. Kiemer and Jessica Hoppstädter from the Saarland University have not found a philosophical stone.

But: they have uncovered processes in the immune system that contribute to our ageing: Low levels of the hormone cortisol and the protein Gilz trigger chronic inflammatory processes.

The study “Altered glucocorticoid metabolism represents a feature of macroph-aging” by Dr. Jessica Hoppstädter and Prof. Alexandra K. Kiemer provides an insight into the role of glucocorticoid metabolism and GILZ regulation during the ageing process. The publication involved researchers from the Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology (Prof. Markus R. Meyer) at the Saarland University, the Pharmacology Department at the Perugia University (Italy) and the Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration at the University Hospital Frankfurt.

Written by Gabriele Amoroso

Source: Saarland University