They are related to aging with sensitivity to influenza



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February 23, 2019, 01:30
Elderly people are more prone to flu because their immune system does not quickly recognize new virus strains, according to a study published today.

According to scientists, the dominant mechanism for generating various immune responses that protect the body of the age group suffers from a significant reduction, which is associated with antibodies, decreasing their ability to infect the virus.

In the experiment, experts compared B-cell production in elderly and younger adults and found that the former produced antibodies without new mutations, as opposed to those that continued to develop.

This shows that the elderly can fight against the historical influenza strains, but not the younger ones and who have recently developed influenza viruses, according to research published on the Nmas1 site.

According to co-author Patrick Wilson, this is undoubtedly a big problem, because if a recent influenza virus infects elderly people, they do not have the proper tool to fight because their antibodies are not so protective.

The lead author, Carole Henry, said they do not claim that people should not be vaccinated, but that the results should be used to guide health centers about what injection can be used in this population.

tgj / rml / cvl

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