Features of Immune Problems in the Elderly The multiple features
demonstrating problems in elderly immunty. Study
Title:Immunosenescence and vaccine failure in the elderly. An
age-related decline in immune responses in the elderly results
in greater susceptibility to infection and reduced responses to
vaccination. This decline in immune function affects both innate
and adaptive immune systems. A meeting of experts in immunology
and gerontology in Paris, France, in April 2008, considered
current understanding of immunosenescence and its clinical
consequences. Essential features of immunosenescence include:
reduced natural killer cell cytotoxicity on a per cell basis;
reduced number and function of dendritic cells in blood;
decreased pools of naive T and B cells; and increases in the
number of memory and effector T and B cells. In particular, an
accumulation of late differentiated effector T cells, commonly
associated with cytomegalovirus infection, contributes to a
decline in the capacity of the adaptive immun