The 5-Lipoxygenase as a Common Pathway for Pathological Brain and Vascular Aging

Figure 2

Hypothetical model whereby 5-Lipoxygenase influences brain and vascular pathological aging. During aging, peripheral and central stressors targeting the vasculature and/or the central nervous system find these organs primed to a chronic inflammatory status secondary to the upregulation of 5-LO in endothelial cells and macrophages, neurons, and microglia, respectively. This fact facilitates an abnormal and long-lasting inflammatory response, which ultimately results in increased organ vulnerability, functional impairments, and development of pathology.