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Aging and the Gastrointestinal Tract: Food for Thought
Author(s) -
Evers B. Mark
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a136
Subject(s) - gastrointestinal tract , disease , medicine , motility , physiology , intensive care medicine , biology , genetics
Medical advances over the last century have enabled people to live longer and remain healthy for a significantly greater amount of time. It is critical that clinicians understand the changes that occur in various organ systems with aging if we are to achieve improvements in the care of the elderly patients. Significant alterations occur in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract with aging which can manifest as impairments in physiologic function, such as alterations in growth, secretion, motility and response to trophic factors. These changes have direct ramifications to diseases that are more common in the elderly, such as the development of GI malignancies. Studies have documented morphological changes in various GI organs which appear to be associated with concomitant decreases in functional capacity in certain instances. With stress (such as acute disease or surgery), the elderly patient's response to increased demand is greatly impaired due to diminished reserve capacity. Morphologic and functional impairments in the GI tract associated with aging will be discussed with particular emphasis on the clinical ramifications.