Vulnerability to Infection Resulting from the Aging of the Immune System (opens in new tab)

Researchers here review the landscape of immune aging with a particular focus on vulnerability to respiratory infections, such as influenza. As we age the immune system becomes ever less capable, the outcome of impaired manufacture of new immune cells, as well as issues that affect the internal workings of cells throughout the body, such as mitochondrial dysfunction and cellular senescence. At the same time the immune system becomes ever more active and inflammatory, a maladaptive reaction to...