Del Giudice Giuseppe, Weinberger Birgit, Grubeck-Loebenstein Beatrix
Novartis Vaccines, Research Center, Siena, Italy.
Gerontology. 2015;61(3):203-10. doi: 10.1159/000366162. Epub 2014 Nov 13.
The aging of the human population is posing serious challenges to research and to public health authorities in order to prevent diseases that more frequently affect the elderly, a portion of the population that will increase more and more in the coming years. While some vaccines exist and are used in the elderly to effectively fight against some infections (e.g. influenza, pneumococci, varicella-zoster virus, diphtheria, and tetanus), still a lot of work remains to be done to better adapt these vaccines and to develop new ones for this age group. The prevention of infectious diseases affecting the elderly can be successful only through a holistic approach. This approach will aim at the following: (1) a deeper understanding of the mechanisms leading to the senescence of the immune system, (2) a better and broader use of vaccines recommended for the elderly, (3) the use of vaccines currently considered only for other age groups and (4) actively priming the population when they are immunological competent, before the physiological waning of immune responsiveness may affect the beneficial effects of vaccination.
人口老龄化给研究工作和公共卫生当局带来了严峻挑战，目的是预防那些更频繁影响老年人的疾病，而在未来几年，老年人群体的数量将越来越多。虽然现有的一些疫苗已用于老年人，以有效对抗某些感染（如流感、肺炎球菌、水痘 - 带状疱疹病毒、白喉和破伤风），但仍有大量工作要做，以便更好地使这些疫苗适应老年人，并为该年龄组开发新的疫苗。预防影响老年人的传染病只有通过整体方法才能成功。这种方法将旨在实现以下几点：（1）更深入地了解导致免疫系统衰老的机制；（2）更好、更广泛地使用为老年人推荐的疫苗；（3）使用目前仅考虑用于其他年龄组的疫苗；以及（4）在免疫反应生理衰退可能影响疫苗接种有益效果之前，在人群免疫功能正常时积极进行疫苗接种。
