The Fountain of Youth may not be all it's cracked up to be, researchers say.
A genetic "fountain of youth" actually might increase seniors' risk of developing autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, celiac disease and psoriasis, a new study says.
Essentially, seniors who maintain "immune youth" are less likely to suffer from infection and disease, but they pay a price for that youthfulness, researchers reported Thursday in the journal Nature Aging.
"These patients have very young immune systems despite being in their 60s and 70s, but the price they pay for that is autoimmunity," lead researcher Dr. Cornelia Weyand, a rheumatologist and clinician-scientist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said in a news release.
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