As we grow older, our immune system changes. These changes mean that it is less able to fight infections. An example of this is tuberculosis, a contagious lung disease. Older people often have more difficulty fighting this disease than younger people.
Scientists are investigating why older adults' immune systems are less effective against tuberculosis. They are comparing the immune systems of younger and older animals to better understand what exactly goes wrong. This type of research is slow, but it is important to improve targeted treatments.
An age-related weakened immune system is called immunosenescence. This explains why older people are more susceptible to infections and why vaccines work less well for them. Understanding this process can help in developing better medicines and vaccinations that are also effective for older people.
Relatively little research is still being conducted into infectious diseases in relation to ageing. It is of great importance to change this, so that older people can remain healthy for longer and infections can be better prevented or fought.
These insights are important to enable healthy ageing and to be able to better combat infections at a later age.
Source: Reason
