Unlike many other autoimmune or chronic illnesses, lupus can improve as patients reach their 60s and 70s.
By analysing blood samples from patients across the age spectrum, the team at University of California discovered that aging turns down the activity of certain immune genes in people with lupus, leading to fewer interferons and other inflammatory proteins in the body.
The study found that in healthy adults, inflammation-related genes and proteins rose slowly over the years, a process that has been dubbed "inflammaging." In patients with lupus, however, the expression of these genes and proteins were abnormally high in mid-life but decreased as the decades went by.
Obviously all lupus patients are different but personally I have noticed the older I get the less flares I have so it can happen.
For the full article please click here.
