Inflammaging and the Ageing Patient
A Clinical Framework with Traditional Chinese Medicine Insights (part 1)
Making logical sense, for healthcare professionals, to understand where Traditional Chines Medicine meets Western Medicine.
In recent years, the concept of inflammaging—chronic, low-grade inflammation that increases with age—has gained traction in the biomedical literature as a key driver of functional decline. From musculoskeletal stiffness to cardiovascular inefficiency and fatigue, inflammaging presents a unifying explanation for many common ageing-related symptoms.
What’s notable is that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has addressed these patterns for centuries, albeit through a different lens. TCM has long focused on preserving vitality (jing), supporting organ harmony (maintaining systemic homeostasis), and delaying physiological ageing. Many of its interventions—particularly acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine—appear to modulate inflammatory pathways and offer practical tools for managing inflammaging in clinical settings.
1. Immune Dysregulation and Chronic Inflammation
In ageing, the immune system becomes both less responsive and more inflammatory—a phenomenon known as immunosenescence. There’s reduced T-cell diversity, impaired resolution of inflammation, and a baseline elevation in pro-inflammatory cytokines like IL-6, CRP, and TNF-α.
TCM Perspective and Application:
Chinese medicine conceptualises this as a decline in Kidney Jing and weakening of the Spleen and Lung qi, leading to internal damp-heat or deficiency-heat patterns.
Chinese herbal medicine excels in addressing immune dysregulation. Classic formulas such as Yu Ping Feng San(Jade Windscreen) support barrier immunity, while others like Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan address heat from deficiency—a common pattern in postmenopausal inflammation.
Acupuncture can modulate inflammatory mediators and rebalance autonomic tone, supporting immune regulation via the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis.
Wang, Yuli, Sun, Ningyang, Luo, Yingbin, Fang, Zhihong, Fang, Yuan, Tian, Jianhui, Yu, Yongchun, Wu, Jianchun, Li, Yan, Yu-Ping-Feng Formula Exerts Antilung Cancer Effects by Remodeling the Tumor Microenvironment through Regulating Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2021, 6624461, 16 pages, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6624461
Li N, Guo Y, Gong Y, Zhang Y, Fan W, Yao K, Chen Z, Dou B, Lin X, Chen B, Chen Z, Xu Z, Lyu Z. The Anti-Inflammatory Actions and Mechanisms of Acupuncture from Acupoint to Target Organs via Neuro-Immune Regulation. J Inflamm Res. 2021 Dec 21;14:7191-7224. doi: 10.2147/JIR.S341581. PMID: 34992414; PMCID: PMC8710088.
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