| Title: |
The ageing immune system and COVID-19 |
| Authors: |
Dunn-Walters, Deborah; Akbar, Arne; Altmann, Danny; Bottazzi, Maria Elena; Breuer, Judith; Gordan, Siamon; Hayday, Adrian; Hussell, Tracy; Klenerman, Paul; Lloyd, Clare; Lord, Janet; Morgan, Paul; Openshaw, Peter; Payne, Ruth; Power, Ultan; Riley, Eleanor; Smith, Ken; Thwaites, Ryan; Xu, Xiao-Ning; Brown, Doug; Evans, Jennie; Gibbard, Matthew |
| Source: |
Dunn-Walters, D, Akbar, A, Altmann, D, Bottazzi, M E, Breuer, J, Gordan, S, Hayday, A, Hussell, T, Klenerman, P, Lloyd, C, Lord, J, Morgan, P, Openshaw, P, Payne, R, Power, U, Riley, E, Smith, K, Thwaites, R, Xu, X-N, Brown, D, Evans, J & Gibbard, M 2020, The ageing immune system and COVID-19. British Society for Immunology. |
| Publisher Information: |
British Society for Immunology |
| Publication Year: |
2020 |
| Collection: |
Queen's University Belfast: Research Portal |
| Subject Terms: |
/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/good_health_and_well_being; name=SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being |
| Description: |
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been apparent that this disease affects different people in different ways. One of the starkest contrasts has been how infection with SARS-CoV-2 can affect people dissimilarly across age groups. This report explores how ageing can affect the immune system’s response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This includes the role of ageing in susceptibility to infection, immune memory, what role other medical conditions associated with ageing have to play; what this means for the optimal treatment of COVID-19 and the vaccines that are being developed to prevent this disease. An asterisk (*) denotes words that appear in the glossary (annex 2). It is well established that the immune system changes as we get older. The balance between immune activation, regulation and resolution can be altered as we age, resulting in inadequate protection against infection, along with a greater risk of inflammatory disease. As with many aspects of the human body, there is no one ‘cut off’ point for this to occur but instead it is a gradual process. Indeed, the shrinkage of the thymus, an organ that produces a type of immune cell known as T cells*, begins shortly after birth. Large studies in the UK have confirmed the positive correlation between increasing age and increasing COVID-19 disease severity. Relative to hospitalised patients under 50 years of age, those aged 60–69 are approximately five times more likely to die from COVID-19, while those aged 70–79 are at 8.5 times greater risk. The reasons for this are numerous. There are, for example, increased and chronic background levels of inflammation in older individuals, referred to as ‘inflammaging’*, which have been linked to increased risk of disease and increased expression of inflammatory genes is associated with increased all-cause mortality in older individuals. Various factors work in tandem with the ageing immune system to exacerbate effects that are already happening. One feature influencing the age-related severity of COVID-19 is the ... |
| Document Type: |
book |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
English |
| Availability: |
https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/1ecf08c2-dc45-478b-b3e7-6c4bf880bd4d; https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/files/288253385/BSI_Ageing_COVID_19_Report_Nov2020_FINAL.pdf |
| Rights: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.EF1FEC9 |
| Database: |
BASE |