5 replies to this topic

[JonesGuy]

I'm getting the feeling that a contributor to aging is the degradation of the immune system. I also have the feeling that restoring immune stem cells might be valuable in older people.

Is there any credence to the hope that I could donate blood stem cells to my parents for transplantation, and thus invigorate their immune systems?

I should look for:

evidence that donated stem cells recover the immune system
evidence that the immune system degrades in the elderly
data on how stem cells are donated
data on how transplantability is deduced


I pick blood stem cells because they are mostly easy to recover from a donor, and they seem to be easy to transplant as well....

[John Schloendorn]

Immune system aging is a complicated interplay of both cell-intrinsic and extrinsic changes. Some recent pre-clinical evidence that cloned ("young") cells can invigorate aspects of an aged immune system comes from ACTs recent cow study, and also weissman's - "cell intrinsic alterations..."
Then there is other important work mainly on thymic involution, which would suggest that fixing the systemic environment is an equally, if not more important part of the problem and some such work is indeed encouraging (crystal mackall).

it is also very species-specific, e.g. in one strain of mice, the aged hematopoietic system becomes untransplantable, but in another strain the same stem cells can outlive the organism at least four fold as per serial transplantation experiments.

In humans I'd say your considerations are one to two generations early, but you never know...

[JonesGuy]

What do you mean by that? That the technology to use stem cells to augment elders' immune systems to extend life is 60 years away?

[John Schloendorn]

I'm not trying to make any accurate prediction. That last sentence of my above post is not useful. Sorry.

[JonesGuy]

Geriatric Neutrophils: Implications for Older Adults.


Link

OBJECTIVES: To review the intersection of immunosenescence and neutropenia, focusing on innate immunity, and implications for research and practice for neutropenic older adults with cancer. DATA SOURCES: Research studies, journal articles, and web sites. CONCLUSION: Immunosenescence, age-related changes within the immune system renders older adults more vulnerable to infection. This vulnerability is magnified by cancer and its treatment. Unfortunately, there has been little consideration of immunosenescence as it relates to supportive care for this population. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Studies detailing the impact of immunosenescence on neutropenia and outcomes for neutropenic older adults are necessary to advance clinical research and practice.

I have no data for neutremia yet (incidence, importance, etc.)

[JonesGuy]

When T cells get old.


Pubmed

Why is vaccination against infectious diseases less effective in older patients than in younger ones? Why do the elderly suffer from more frequent and severe infectious episodes than the young? The answer to both these questions is immunosenescence--the poorly defined changes that occur in the immune system as a result of the disrupted performance of multiple components of immunity. Presentations from a recent workshop, which are summarized here, examined these questions and provided some insights from the perspective of improving vaccination strategies among the elderly

I need to learn if infection is a huge factor.