title: Water and aging.
abstract: Having evolved from the sea and developed from an embryo, the species and the individual lose water--the medium and solvent wherein these processes occur--continually as they age. From an embryo, which is about 90% water, to a senescent individual in the tenth decade, there is a decline in body water to 60% or below. This loss in body water has profound effects on pathophysiology, making older persons susceptible to both under- and overhydration because they have a smaller volume of distribution for exogenous water. A colloid osmotic macromolecular aggregation model has been hypothesized to explain water loss in aging individuals.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001810:Blood Volume; D001834:Body Water / Q000378:metabolism*; D002386:Cataract / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003102:Colloids; D004905:Erythrocyte Aging; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D003102:Colloids