Immunosenescence: what does it mean to health outcomes in older adults?

The most profound consequences of immune senescence with respect to human health are the increased susceptibility to infectious diseases and decreased vaccine efficacy. Changes in both innate and adaptive immune function converge in the reduced response to vaccination and protection against infectio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current opinion in immunology Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 418 - 424
Main Authors: McElhaney, Janet E, Effros, Rita B
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2009
Subjects:
Adjuvants, Immunologic - therapeutic use
Aging - immunology
Allergy and Immunology
Disease Susceptibility
Humans
Immune Tolerance - drug effects
Immunologic Memory
Influenza virus
T-Lymphocytes - drug effects
T-Lymphocytes - immunology
T-Lymphocytes - pathology
Treatment Outcome
Viral Vaccines - therapeutic use
Virus Diseases - immunology
Virus Diseases - pathology
Virus Diseases - physiopathology
Virus Diseases - therapy
Viruses - immunology
West Nile virus
ISSN:0952-7915, 1879-0372, 1879-0372
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The most profound consequences of immune senescence with respect to human health are the increased susceptibility to infectious diseases and decreased vaccine efficacy. Changes in both innate and adaptive immune function converge in the reduced response to vaccination and protection against infection and related diseases. The decline in thymic output of naïve T cells diminishes responses to novel antigens, such as West Nile Virus, while clonal expansions leading to defects in the T cell repertoire are associated with blunted responses of memory T cells to conserved epitopes of the influenza virus. Recent studies on how immunologic mechanisms of protection change during aging have led to novel strategies for improving vaccine responsiveness and outcomes of infectious diseases in older adults.
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ISSN:0952-7915
1879-0372
1879-0372
DOI:10.1016/j.coi.2009.05.023