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Influenza and Aging

Immunological Methods of Enhancing Influenza Vaccine Response in Elderly People

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Biomedical Advances in Aging

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Abstract

Despite the marked reduction in mortality from infectious diseases during the twentieth century, infections remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Pneumonia, for example, is the second leading cause of death in octogenarians (Kohn, 1982). Influenza occurs more frequently in the elderly and is often an antecedent of bacterial pneumonia and death (Ailing et al., 1981). Although other factors are certainly involved, such as the presence of underlying disease or the use of immunosuppressive medicines, it is reasonable to assert that age-related immune deficiency contributes to the predisposition to certain infections, such as influenza, in the elderly. This chapter reviews current influenza vaccination recommendations for the elderly and presents indications of the shortcomings or successes of such vaccines. Because age-related changes in immune functions may well account for the diminished antibody response to vaccine, selected research strategies designed to augment vaccine response are also discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison and William S. Middleton VA Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA

    William B. Ershler

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  1. William B. Ershler
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D.C., USA

    Allan L. Goldstein

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© 1990 Plenum Press, New York

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Ershler, W.B. (1990). Influenza and Aging. In: Goldstein, A.L. (eds) Biomedical Advances in Aging. GWUMC Department of Biochemistry Annual Spring Symposia. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0513-2_51

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0513-2_51

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7844-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0513-2

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