The immune system changes we see in our aging horses aren’t as profound as those we see in aging people, and we still have much to learn. | Photo: iStock

Dianne McFarlane, DVM, PhD, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, CVM, professor of physiological sciences in Oklahoma State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, in Stillwater, addressed this topic at the 2019 British Equine Veterinary Association Congress, held Sept. 11-14 in Birmingham, U.K.

How Our Immune Systems Age

“As we age, our bodies deteriorate and fail us,” McFarlane said in opening. “Two things happen primarily: The immune system loses its ability to respond appropriately and sufficiently when challenged (immunosenescence) and loses its ability to balance anti-inflammatory events with proinflammatory events, therefore becoming more proinflammatory (what’s called ‘inflammaging’)