AGE CHANGES OF THE LIVER

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to analyze the results of scientific works devoted to the study of age-related changes in the liver and aging under the influence of various harmful factors. Research material and methods. Analytical and bibliosemantic methods were used in the research. The search for scientific information on the topic of age-related changes in the liver and general scientific medical information was conducted using PubMed and Web of Science databases. The results. The analysis of literary sources made it possible to establish that in the course of life, the human body undergoes a number of changes that lead to its aging. Physiological aging of the body is accompanied by irreversible functional and organic restructuring of all systems and organs, including the liver. The most common cause of diffuse changes in the liver parenchyma in elderly patients is steatosis, in the development of which mitochondrial dysfunction plays an important role. The problem of bad habits is also acute, because they inevitably accelerate the aging process in the liver itself and cause pronounced diffuse changes. This list includes alcohol consumption, smoking, and poor nutrition. Hereditary diseases are a separate direction of age-related changes in the liver. Without proper therapy, they accelerate the aging of the liver and the appearance of new chronic diseases associated with them. It was also established that scientists have always sought to find reasons that affect the shortening of life, the mechanisms of liver aging, and the development of its age-related pathology. Along this path, hundreds of hypotheses have arisen that explain the essence of aging by the action of some single factor, say, a violation in one or another link of life support. One of the first synthetic theories of aging, based on the action of a complex system of factors, is the adaptive and regulatory function of the liver. This theory is called adaptive because it sees the basis of aging in the reduction of the body's adaptive capabilities with age; and regulatory – because the shifts that occur are explained by a change in the mechanisms of regulation of exchange and function. According to the adaptation-regulatory theory, along with aging, a destructive process, the process of vitauktu (from vita - life, auktum - to increase) develops, aimed at stabilizing the viability of the liver and the body as a whole. This idea determined the tactics and strategy for solving this problem – to slow down the pace of aging and optimize the aging process and the adaptive capabilities of the body as much as possible. Conclusions. For the treatment and prevention of liver diseases, against the background of inevitable aging, it is advisable to use drugs with a multidirectional effect on various links of the pathogenesis of liver lesions. Systematic implementation of preventive measures will allow older people to maintain good health and work capacity for many years.