Towards More Broadly Effective Influenza Vaccines

Might it be possible to develop a vaccine that works on every strain of influenza, rather than going through a seasonal exercise of vaccination every year? Or at least many strains, rather than just a few? In today's research materials, scientists discuss a possible approach, identifying a novel part of the influenza virus to target, a part of the viral structure that may mutate less readily than the usual vaccine targets. Viruses mutate aggressively when they infect large population, a challenge to both vaccination and natural immunity. The immune system recognizes small parts of a virus, epitopes, and the epitopes most readily recognized are those that mutate to form new strains. This is why we are presently stuck with (a) the yearly death toll inflicted by influenza variants, and (b) the small chance of a much worse variant showing up at some point to produce an outcome to rival the 1918 pandemic. The burden of infectious disease falls most heavily on the old. An age-damaged immune system responds poorly to many types of vaccination, and is in any case far less capable of mounting a defense against pathogens of all varieties, even given vaccination. Vaccination clearly helps in the case of influenza, but old people are remain vulnerable and exhibit the highest mortality as a result of infection. Arguably far greater effort in research and development should be directed towards the rejuvenation of the immune system rather than better vaccines: regrowing the thymus; r...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs