Mar. 17, 2011 A study featured on the cover of the March 15
Journal of Immunology is providing insight into why the elderly
are so vulnerable to pneumonia and other bacterial infections.
Compared with younger adults, the elderly are at higher risk of
becoming seriously ill or dying from pneumonia. Moreover,
vaccines against the disease are less effective in the elderly.
To help understand why, Loyola researchers examined two types of
immune system cells, macrophages and B cells, located in
specialized areas in the spleens of mice. (Macrophages gobble up
bacteria, while B cells produce antibodies that fight bacteria.)
Macrophages and B cells appeared to be just as effective in old
mice as they were in younger mice. But there were fewer of them.
"If we knew how to replenish these cells, we might be able to
lower the risk of bacterial infections in the elderly," said
senior author Pamela Witte, a professor in the Department of
Microbiology and Immunology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch
School of Medicine. "