Title: Age differences in cytokine expression under conditions of health using experimental pain models
Published in: Experimental Gerontology
Older adults are at an increased risk to develop frequent and prolonged pain. Emerging evidence proposes a link between immune changes and pain, which is consistent with the inflammation theory of aging and the increased incidence of age-related diseases. To our knowledge, this is the first study indicating that standardized painful stimuli results in an immune response that differs in time course and magnitude between healthy older and younger adults. Our results are consistent with the assertion that age-related immune system dysregulation may contribute to the increased prevalence of pain in older individuals.