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The paper below describing how inflammation, which appears
to be countered
by CR, may play a role in enhanced aging and its diseases.

Vasto S, Candore G, Balistreri CR, Caruso M, Colonna-Romano
G, Grimaldi MP,
Listi F, Nuzzo D, Lio D, Caruso C.
Inflammatory networks in ageing, age-related diseases and
longevity.
Mech Ageing Dev. 2006 Nov 20; [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 17118425

Inflammation is considered a response set by the tissues in
response to
injury elicited by trauma or infection. It is a complex
network of molecular
and cellular interactions that facilitates a return to
physiological
homeostasis and tissue repair. The individual response
against infection and
trauma is also determined by gene variability. Ageing is
accompanied by
chronic low-grade inflammation state clearly showed by
2-4-fold increase in
serum levels of inflammatory mediators. A wide range of
factors has been
claimed to contribute to this state; however, the most
important role seems
to be played by the chronic antigenic stress, which affects
immune system
thorough out life with a progressive activation of
macrophages and related
cells. This pro-inflammatory status, interacting with the
genetic
background, potentially triggers the onset of age-related
inflammatory
diseases as atherosclerosis. Thus, the analysis of
polymorphisms of the
genes that are key nodes of the natural immunity response
might clarify the
patho-physiology of age-related inflammatory diseases as
atherosclerosis. On
the other hand, centenarians are characterized by marked
delay or escape
from age-associated diseases that, on average, cause
mortality at earlier
ages. In addition, centenarian offspring have increased
likelihood of
surviving to 100 years and show a reduced prevalence of
age-associated
diseases, as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and less
prevalence of
cardiovascular risk factors. So, genes involved in CVD may
play an opposite
role in human longevity. Thus, the model of centenarians can
be used to
understand the role of these genes in successful and
unsuccessful ageing.
Accordingly, we report the results of several studies in
which the
frequencies of pro-inflammatory alleles were significantly
higher in
patients affected by infarction and lower in centenarians
whereas
age-related controls displayed intermediate values. These
findings point to
a strong relationship between the genetics of inflammation,
successful
ageing and the control of cardiovascular disease at least in
men, in which
these studies were performed. These data are also briefly
discussed in the
light of antagonistic pleiotropy theory and in order to
pursuit a
pharmacogenomics approach.