Vaccines for women age 50 and older.

For older populations, most of whom are women, preventing illnesses and deaths through the use of vaccines is a leading public health challenge. Our understanding about how age and sex affect the immune system is limited, and basic and translational research aimed at improving vaccines and immune responses of older persons is needed. In the meantime, fully implementing current vaccine recommendations, particularly those for influenza and pneumococcal vaccines, can save thousands of lives and prevent illnesses in persons > 50 years of age.

Variable effects of short chain fatty acids and lactic acid in inducing intestinal mucosal injury in newborn rats.

Background: Short chain fatty acids and lactic acid are colonic bacterial fermentation products.

Methods: To evaluate the effects of these organic acids on the intestinal mucosa, a total of 72 newborn Sprague-Dawley rats (10 days old) were studied. A 3.