Clinical Consequences of Aging

Abstract

The healthy older person has several distinct recognizable clinical attributes. However, many of the effects of ageing occur without overt manifestations. The combined effect of age-related changes gives rise to new syndromes, and alters the signs and symptoms of well known diseases. this makes caring for the elderly a complex clinical exercise. Knowledge of the patho-physiology of ageing  enables the clinician to appreciate these differences and aids in early and accurate diagnosis. There are many theories of aging, but they are incompletely understood. Most gerontologists agree that genetic factors, coupled with environmental influences, drive cellular degenerative changes. These factors are so varied that the speed and type of ageing is highly diverse hence the elderly are a heterogenous group, with no two individuals having the same ageing “phenotypeâ€.