Manipulating
Our Immunological System for Longevity?
Someone
sent me this link through WhatsApp:
The
claim came from notable scientists who wrote it may be possible for us to live
up to 100 years through the strength of our immune system, one of whom was Dr
Scott Kaiser who said that as we age, all parts of the body experience change,
including the immune system.
A
friend who is a medical specialist in the same WhatsApp group then consulted me
for my opinion over this claim by these specialist scientists.
According
to Dr. Scott Kaiser, a geriatrician, and director of Geriatric Cognitive
Health for the Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, California, he
said that there are two main concepts when it comes to how the immune system
changes as we get older.
“One
is immunosenescence and that’s the age-related process of immune
dysfunction,” he explained to Medical News Today.
“So,
changes in our immune system composition and function over time can lead to
poor immune function in older people. And that’s closely related to people’s
vulnerability to infection, autoimmune disease, and even various
types of cancer,” he said.
According
to another doctor, Dr Kaiser he said this:
“And
then there’s this issue of inflammaging Trusted Source, which is a term
that’s been used to describe age-related increases
in inflammation because of high levels of pro-inflammatory markers in
the blood and different tissues in the body. That’s a strong risk
factor for all sorts of diseases, including neurodegenerative processes
like Alzheimer’s disease, for example. So, there’s a lot to look at in
terms of the immune function over time and how our immune systems change with
age may either make us more vulnerable or protect us”
The
claim about immune system factors and other factors, such as nutrition
influencing longevity is the same as other ongoing research on aging.
Dr.
Scott Kaiser highlights two concepts: immunosenescence (the decline in immune
function with age) and inflammaging (chronic low-grade inflammation that
increases disease risks). These processes weaken the immune system, making
individuals more susceptible to infections, cancer, and neurodegenerative
diseases.
Interventions
focusing on maintaining immune balance and reducing inflammation, such as
healthy diets, exercise, and stress management, may enhance longevity. The idea
of immunity playing a pivotal role in reaching 100 years is scientifically
plausible, but individual genetic and environmental factors also matter.
However,
Psalm 90 beautifully highlights the balance between scientific pursuits and
spiritual understanding. Psalm 90:10 acknowledges the natural limit of human
life, regardless of strength or effort, including scientific advancements like
manipulating immunity or caloric restriction.
This
implies that whatever means we try to use to prolong our lives, whether by
manipulating with our immunity or by restricting our caloric intake as shown in
rats by Clive M McCay in the 1930’s or by manipulating our immune system, we
still have to die, come what may.
Since
the 1930s scientists from fields such as biochemistry, pathology, immunology,
genetics, neuroscience, and nutrition have studied the relation of dietary
caloric intake to longevity and aging. A paper discusses how Clive Maine McCay,
a professor of animal husbandry at Cornell University, began his investigation
of the topic and promoted it as a productive research program in the
multidisciplinary science of gerontology. Initially, McCay observed the effect
of reduced-calorie diets on life span and senescence while pursuing his
nutrition research in the context of animal husbandry and agriculture. But when
he received funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and started to participate
in the establishment of gerontology during the 1930s, the scope of his research
was considerably expanded beyond his original disciplinary domain. It became a
multidisciplinary research program that attracted scholars from a variety of
scientific and medical disciplines. This paper argues that through this
expansion McCay's research created a means of maintaining cooperation among the
diverse and heterogeneous academic fields constituting gerontology.
Since
then, there have been several dozen studies showing the same in other animals
including in humans
There
is also a recent paper “Calorie restriction for enhanced longevity: The role of
novel dietary strategies in the present obesogenic environment” by
James L
Dorling, Corby K Martin, and Leanne M Redman here:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9036399/
Scientific
research, like McCay's caloric restriction studies and contemporary findings on
immune function, explores how to enhance health span. However, even these
efforts cannot ultimately override the finite nature of life as described in
the Bible. As far as I am concerned, integration of faith and science brings a
meaningful dimension to this discussion.
Let me
explain my views further.
Concerning
this claim made by scientists that we can prolong our life for example, by
using the strength of our immunity, here is what the Bible also warn us:
In
Psalm 90: 4- 10, especially in verse 10 it speaks about using
our strength, labour and sorrow, such as using the strength of immunity
attempting to prolong life. Let me show you these few other verses in Psalm 90
from verses 4 to 10:
4 “For
a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a
watch in the night.
5 Thou
carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they
are like grass which groweth up.
6 In
the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and
withereth.
7 For
we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
8 Thou
hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy
countenance.
9 For
all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is
told.
10 The
days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength
they are fourscore years yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is
soon cut off, and we fly away”.
Notwithstanding
all these studies, these verses clearly tell us there is still a limit to
longevity, after when death is still the victory as decreed in Psalm 90 when
our souls still “fly away”
Disease
and death are no respecter of any man who zoologically are animals borrowing
time here in this world. What use is wealth too for Tun Diam and
billionaire Ananda Krishnan both from Malaysia and many other famous
billionaires elsewhere who all died recently
Altogether
21 billionaires died this year alone in 2024 –out of a total 2,640
that Forbes counted for our most recent World’s
Billionaires list.
What
use then is wealth and power when death finally forces us to leave all this
immense material wealth and vanity behind to fly off into eternity
empty-handed? Think of our soul first that is eternal, not our physical wealth,
body and even temporary excellent health
The
Bible reminds us:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where
thieves do not break in and steal
(Matthew 6:19 -21)
For
what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul?
(Mark
8:36)
On this note, there was a famous book in medicine originally written by
Sir Stanley Davidson we used to use when we were students. This book has
now been expanded by other authors including by C.R.W. Edwards, A.A.S Bouchier,
C. Haslett and E.R. Chilvers .
Davidson
also wrote a much thicker voluminous book on Human Nutrition and Dietetics
together with Passmore, and later editions with even more and more other
authors joining in to write that standard textbook on nutrition originally
written by Sir Stanley Davidson.
Some
years ago, I attended a medical conference where Professor James
Colquhoun Petrie, who was the president of the Royal College of
Physicians of Edinburgh was there presenting a paper. Later I asked Prof Petrie
about Sir Stanley Davidson since Davidson was also from Edinburgh.
"Oh!
Davidson” he added, " He died some years ago, he sarcastically told me.
“He was blind in one eye, deaf in another ear, and had all the diseases
he described in his own textbook of medicine. He died of all those
diseases together with all those drugs and medicines he recommended to
doctors to use for treatment. It was very tragic he could not cure himself from
disease and death he described and prescribed in his own textbook." I
was initially stunned.
My
personal reflections also offer a profound look into the
transient nature of wealth, health, and even scientific achievements,
juxtaposed with the eternal importance of the soul. The Bible's teachings in
Matthew 6:19-21 and Mark 8:36 emphasize this priority, urging us to focus on
heavenly treasures rather than fleeting material possessions.
Sir
Stanley Davidson and his tragic end serves as a striking reminder of humanity's
vulnerability, no matter our knowledge or resources. The ultimate reality
remains - life, wealth, and achievements are fleeting, while the soul's destiny
is eternal.
My
other article title, "Extending Our Life Span in the World in
Vain," aptly encapsulates this truth.
Here is
another one of the many other articles I wrote why we must grow old and die
Scientific
Logic: Extending Our Life Span in the World in Vain
https://sg.docworkspace.com/l/sINyoyYK9AdW4_psG
https://scientificlogic.blogspot.com/search?q=Why+we+grow+old+and+die&m=1
Hope
this answers?
ju-boo
lim
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