Assessment of age-related decline of immunological function and possible methods for immunological restoration in elderly

Abstract

The immune system plays an important role in protection against infection and in the maintenance of the internal environment of the body. However, such important immune functions are known to decline with age in many mammals, including humans. It is a matter of clinical importance that the incidence of various age-associated diseases such as infections, cancer and vascular disorders increases with a decrease in immunological vigor. The extent of immunologic decline is variable and exhibits wide inter-individual variations. Thus, it is important to assess the extent of immunologic decline in both patients suffering from various diseases and in healthy people in order to maintain healthy conditions. To this end, we have developed a scoring system that analyzes immune parameters according to a database of known age-associated immune changes obtained from a healthy population. Using this scoring system, we can combine several different immunological parameters and express the immune status of individuals as a simple numeral. After determining immunological vigor for individuals, it is necessary to replenish immune defects and restore them to normalcy for individuals with depressed immunological scores. This chapter provides methods of immunological restoration in animal models and introduces some similar attempts in humans. The effect of any immunological restoration varies with the individual and must therefore verified. Currently, the proposed immune scoring system proposed is useful to determine whether the methods employed are effective for the restoration of immune functions.