The medical field has made many advances in recent years. People continue to make it known that they are “thankful for modern medicine”. Though this may be the case, the medical field still has much more room to grow. More specifically, it is time for the medical field to pay more attention to the elderly. With the baby boomers now reaching higher ages, geriatric care is in high demand. An article by Claudia Späni spoke about Alzheimer’s, and it sparked my interest in this topic. Through further research I came across another article by Louis Aronson that expanded on this topic.
Claudia Späni said in the article, “Reduced β- amyloid pathology in an APP transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease lacking functional B and T cells”, stating that “In Alzheimer’s disease, accumulation and pathological aggregation of amyloid β-peptide is accompanied by the induction of complex immune responses, which have been attributed both beneficial and detrimental properties” (Späni, 2015). Though this study was not necessarily looking into immunosenescence, it did touch on it in a way to show how the ageing process negatively impacts an individual’s capacity to respond to immune challenges. The conclusions made from this study could be a protective compensatory mechanism of the adaptive immune system aimed to control or reduce potentially toxic neuroinflammatory responses to A βaggregates, even at the cost of an increased amyloid plaque deposition. The study does acknowledge that a better understanding of the underlying neuroimmunological mechanisms is the next step in creating more therapy options that are effective as well as safe.
In relation to Späni’s article, Louis Aronson wrote an article, “Stop Treating 70-and 90-Year -Olds the Same”. This article expands on the topic of immunosensescence, and it makes a point to address the issue that stands when lumping all of geriatrics, 65 and older, into one singular category. With the advancement of age, a lot of health concerns follow--including chronic diseases that can compromise the body’s resistance to infectious organism. This includes the immune system weakening, which brings us back to our topic: immunosenescence. Aronson explains how "Older adults who receive tetanus and diphtheria vaccines, for instance, produce less-effective antibodies, and the vaccine's protective effects fade faster than they do for younger patients", which could indicate that Older people may need different types of treatment (Späni, 2015). These differences could include changing the dosage or even trying biologically different vaccines to treat them.
Between these two articles, immunosensescence among geriatrics was not only established but also expounded upon. In the final paragraphs of Louis Aronson’s article, it states that there are two easy steps that would help to not only correct the deficiency in its vaccine recommendations, but also increase equality throughout our healthcare system. First, we should add "old hood" to the list of childhood and adulthood. Second, the National Institutes of Health should require that older adults be included in clinical studies. Though these two steps are not a cure-all, they can be a powerful way to start creating changes in the geriatric field.
Resources:
Späni, C., Suter, T., Derungs, R., Ferretti, M. T., Welt, T., Wirth, F., . . . Kulic, L. (2015). Reduced β-amyloid pathology in an APP transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease lacking functional B and T cells. Acta Neuropathologica Communications,3(1). doi:10.1186/s40478-015-0251-x
Aronson, L. (2017, August 11). Stop Treating 70- and 90-Year-Olds the Same. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/opinion/sunday/vaccinations-elderly.html
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