Immune Senescence and Vaccination in the Elderly

Pierre   Olivier   Lang; Sheila      Govind; Annemieke   ten   Bokum; Natalie      Kenny; Emmanuel      Matas; David      Pitts; Richard      Aspinall

doi:10.2174/15680266113136660181

Abstract

Vaccines are powerful public health tools that have been of tremendous benefit in protecting vulnerable populations worldwide from many pathogens. However, vaccine- preventable diseases still remain a considerable burden and this is particularly true among aging and aged populations in industrialized countries. The predicted demographic shift in the population landscape towards an ever-increasing aging population and the evidence suggesting that older individuals mount less-than optimal immune response to vaccination have raised the question of improving vaccine responses in older individuals. This review presents recent progress in the understanding at the cellular and molecular levels of age related immune decline and strategies to translate current knowledge into the development of immunization strategies to promote healthy aging, keeping older members of our society autonomous and independent.

Keywords: Healthy aging, immunosenescence, older adults, vaccination, vaccine design, vaccine development, vaccine effectiveness.

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