Immunosenescence and COVID-19

It is very clear from the data, as is the case for influenza, the mortality of the COVID-19 pandemic is suffered near entirely by the old. This is because the aged immune system is less capable of fighting off pathogens, but also because the state of chronic inflammation and other dysfunctions resulting from immune system aging makes the cytokine storm of a severe SARS-Cov-2 viral infection that much more likely and that much more severe. Patients with inflammatory age-related conditions, or conditions associated with obesity, a prominent cause of chronic inflammation, are much more likely to die from SARS-Cov-2 infection. Since the first reported cases with severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV2), this disease called coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has expanded worldwide being considered by World Health Organization as a pandemic. Although this virus may infect people regardless of age, race or sex, older subjects have been identified as a high-risk group regarding the clinical outcome of the disease, both for developing severe pneumonia with respiratory distress and death. Although global mortality rate directly related to SARS-CoV2 infection is unknown (a real infectious rate is not well known), mortality rate among severely elderly patients (between 60-90 years old) is around 50%, even in countries with significant lower deaths. Hence, apart from other risk factors linked to a poor clinical outcome, such as hypertension, diabete...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs