Aging is associated with a decline in immune function (immunosenescence) that leads to progressive deterioration in both innate and adaptive immune functions. These changes contribute to the subsequent increased risk for infectious diseases and their sequelae. Vaccination is the most effective and inexpensive public health strategy for prevention of infection, despite the decreased efficacy of vaccines in older adults due to immunosenescence. The rapid rise in the older adult population globally represents a great challenge for vaccination programs. This article first addresses the status of innate and adaptive immune functions in aging and then focuses on influenza vaccine. The development history of influenza vaccines, current status, and potential strategies to improve the immunogenicity and vaccine effectiveness in older adults are discussed.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1586/erv.11.137 | DOI Listing |
J Eval Clin Pract
February 2025
College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA.
Aims And Objectives: Approximately 50% of Americans report having low health insurance literacy, leading to uncertainty when choosing their insurance coverage to best meet their healthcare needs. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the association between lack of prescription drug benefit knowledge and problems paying medical bills among Medicare beneficiaries.
Methods: We analysed the 2021 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey Public Use File of 5586 Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥ 65 years.
AIDS Care
December 2024
International Health Program, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) was identified as an effective strategy in HIV prevention. Although circumcision reduces heterosexual acquisition of HIV by 60%, there is low uptake of VMMC services in Eswatini. This study applies the health belief model (HBM) in understanding perceptions of young men in Eswatini towards VMMC for HIV prevention to upscale its adoption.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMed Sci Monit
December 2024
Department of Neurology, HangZhou Third People's Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
BACKGROUND This study aimed to analyze the risk factors of central nervous system (CNS) infection caused by reactivation of varicella zoster virus (VZV) and provide reference for the prevention and early diagnosis of VZV-associated CNS infection. MATERIAL AND METHODS A prospective study was conducted on 1030 patients with acute herpes zoster (HZ) admitted to our hospital from January 2021 to June 2023. According to clinical manifestations and auxiliary examinations, they were divided into HZ group of 990 patients and VZV-associated CNS infection group of 40 patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMed Care
November 2024
Institute of Clinical Biometrics, Center for Medical Data Science, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Background: Practice guidelines recommend patient management based on scientific evidence. Quality indicators gauge adherence to such recommendations and assess health care quality. They are usually defined as adverse event rates, which may not fully capture guideline adherence over time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Lang Commun Disord
December 2024
Hearing, Speech & Language Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) is amongst the 10 most common cancers worldwide and has a major effect on patients' quality of life. Given the complexity of this unique group of patients, a multidisciplinary team approach is preferable. Amongst the debilitating sequels of HNC and/or its treatment, swallowing, speech and voice impairments are prevalent and require the involvement of speech-language pathologists (SLPs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!