A simple way to slow down aging has been named

Vaccination against shingles may slow down biological aging, as it prevents the development of chronic inflammation, said evolutionary biologist and virologist, professor at the City University of Hong Kong Peter Lidsky.

As reported by BAKU.WS with reference to Gazeta.Ru, scientists previously found that the shingles vaccine in elderly people may be associated with slower biological aging. According to Lidsky, this effect is not unexpected: with age, the level of chronic inflammation in the body increases, which accelerates the aging process, and vaccination can counteract this.

According to the scientist, reports of "slowing down aging" look optimistic, but do not contradict modern scientific understanding. In recent years, more and more research points to a close connection between the immune system and aging. For example, in 2000, Italian researcher Claudio Franceschi proposed the concept of "inflammaging" (or immune aging), according to which chronic inflammation, occurring even in the absence of infections, increases with age and contributes to the development of age-related diseases.

At the same time, Lidsky noted, it is currently impossible to accurately determine how many years vaccination can slow down aging. In addition, it cannot be claimed that any vaccine - for example, annual flu vaccination - has a noticeable effect on this process.

"Aging is a complex process that is difficult to define precisely, so the magnitude of the effect depends on the measurement method. The authors of the study did not make bold assessments like 'the vaccine slowed aging by three years,' probably for methodological reasons. At the same time, the study also examined the effect of flu vaccination - the effect was noticeable, but very small and affected only some indicators of aging. Influenza is an acute disease and is unlikely to significantly accelerate aging, however, it is still important for elderly people to avoid infection, as the disease is much more severe for them. The mechanisms by which viruses can affect aging have not yet been fully studied: it is known that inflammation accelerates aging in many experiments, but it has not yet been possible to isolate one specific mechanism," concluded the specialist.