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Aging changes in organs - tissue - cells

Contents of this page:

Illustrations

Tissue types
Tissue types

Information    Return to top

All vital organs begin to lose some function as you age. Aging changes have been found in all of the body's cells, tissues and organs, and these changes affect the functioning of all body systems.

Living tissue is made up of cells. There are many different types of cells, but all have the same basic structure. Tissues are layers of similar cells that perform a specific function. The various kinds of tissues group together to form organs.

There are four basic types of tissue:

AGING CHANGES

Cells are the basic building blocks of tissues. All cells experience changes with aging. They become larger and are less able to divide and reproduce. Among other changes, there is an increase in pigments and fatty substances inside the cell (lipids). Many cells lose their ability to function, or they begin to function abnormally.

Waste products accumulate in tissue with aging. A fatty brown pigment called lipofuscin collects in many tissues, as do other fatty substances.

Connective tissue changes, becoming increasingly stiff. This makes the organs, blood vessels, and airways more rigid. Cell membranes change, so many tissues have more trouble receiving oxygen and nutrients and getting rid of carbon dioxide and wastes.

Many tissues lose mass. This process is called atrophy. Some tissues become lumpy (nodular) or more rigid.

Because of cell and tissue changes, your organs also change as you age. Aging organs gradually but progressively lose function, and there is a decrease in the maximum functioning capacity. Most people do not notice this loss, because you seldom need to use your organs to their fullest capability.

Organs have a reserve ability to function beyond the usual needs. For example, the heart of a 20-year-old is capable of pumping about 10 times the amount that is actually needed to preserve life. After age 30, an average of 1% of this reserve is lost each year.

The most significant changes in organ reserve occur in the heart, lungs, and kidneys. The amount of reserve lost varies between people and between different organs in a single person.

These changes appear slowly and over a long period of time. Even so, when an organ is worked harder than usual it may not be able to increase function. Sudden heart failure or other problems can develop when the body is worked harder than usual. Things that produce an extra workload (body stressors) include the following:

Loss of reserve also makes it harder to restore equilibrium in the body. Drugs are detoxified at a slower rate. Lower doses of medications may be needed, and side effects become more common.

Medication side effects can mimic the symptoms of many diseases, so it is easy to mistake a drug reaction for an illness. Some medications have entirely different side effects in the elderly than in younger people.

AGING THEORY

No one really knows how and why people change as they get older. Some theories claim that aging is caused by accumulated injuries from ultraviolet light, wear and tear on the body, by-products of metabolism, and so on. Other theories view aging as a predetermined, genetically-controlled process.

However, no theory sufficiently explains all the changes of the aging process. Aging is a complex and varied process that varies in how it affects different people and even different organs. Most gerontologists (people who study aging) feel that aging is the cumulative effect of the interaction of many lifelong influences. These influences include heredity, environment, cultural influences, diet, exercise and leisure, past illnesses, and many other factors.

Unlike the changes of adolescence, which are predictable to within a few years, each person ages at a unique rate. Some systems begin aging as early as age 30. Other aging processes are not common until much later.

Although some changes typically occur with aging, they occur at different rates and to different extents. There is no reliable way to predict specifically how you will age.

TERMS

RELATED TOPICS

References    Return to top

Martin GM. Biology of aging. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 22.

Update Date: 5/3/2009

Updated by: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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