Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013 Jun;9(6):1364-7.
doi: 10.4161/hv.24696. Epub 2013 Apr 12.

The effect of ageing of the immune system on vaccination responses

Janet M Lord  1
Affiliations
Review

The effect of ageing of the immune system on vaccination responses

Janet M Lord. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2013 Jun.

Abstract

With a falling birth rate and increasing life expectancy we are experiencing dramatic demographic changes that result in an ever ageing population. Ageing is accompanied by increased susceptibility to bacterial and viral infections indicative of a decline in immunity, termed immunesenescence. Immunesenescence also has implications for vaccination programmes and there is clear evidence that the decline in adaptive immunity results in dramatically reduced vaccine responses and vaccine longevity in older adults. This review summarises some of the key changes in the adaptive immune response that change with age and suggests approaches that could be used to try and improve vaccine responses in older adults.

Keywords: Immunesenescence; ageing; vaccine efficacy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

None
Figure 1. Blood cell generation from the pluripotent stem cell showing predisposition toward the myeloid lineage with aging.
None
Figure 2. The effects of aging on T cell proliferative capacity and phenotype.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Office for National Statistics online, 2012. Available from URL: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/mortality-ageing/mortality-in-england-and-... (Accessed 23.03.13).
    1. House of Lords Report: Ageing: Scientific Aspects. July 2005. Available from URL: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldselect/ldsctech/20/2...
    1. Fleming DM, Elliot AJ. The impact of influenza on the health and health care utilisation of elderly people. Vaccine. 2005;23(Suppl 1):S1–9. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2005.04.018. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Coe CL, Lubach GR, Kinnard J. Immune senescence in old and very old rhesus monkeys: reduced antibody response to influenza vaccination. Age (Dordr) 2012;34:1169–77. doi: 10.1007/s11357-011-9356-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Murasko DM, Bernstein ED, Gardner EM, Gross P, Munk G, Dran S, et al. Role of humoral and cell-mediated immunity in protection from influenza disease after immunization of healthy elderly. Exp Gerontol. 2002;37:427–39. doi: 10.1016/S0531-5565(01)00210-8. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources