Can Older Adults Bulk Up Their Flu Abs (Antibodies) with Exercise?
The many benefits of an invigorating swim
Dr. Kohut is leading a multidisciplinary team to determine whether or not exercise affects how well an older adult’s immune system responds to a flu vaccine.
Each year, the flu can take a toll on seniors. People sixty and older don’t get the same “oomph” out of a flu vaccine that a younger person does, and the incidence and severity of infection is much greater in the older population.
In an earlier study involving adults ages 62 and older, Dr. Kohut and researchers found that, among other things, adults who exercised regularly and vigorously produced higher levels of anti-influenza IgG and IgM antibodies (key influenza fighters) following flu immunization than those who exercised moderately or who were inactive.
Now, in an NIAID-sponsored study, the researchers are digging a little deeper. For one year, the team is comparing the immune responses of approximately 100 adults, all of whom were vaccinated against the flu and who are engaged in one of two exercise programs. Adults in group one exercise strenuously several times each week, while adults in group two take part in low-impact stretching exercises several times each week. In addition to measuring the production of anti-influenza antibodies such as IgG and IgG1, the researchers are looking at the number and activity of killer T cells, the immune cells that help rid the body of virus-infected cells, as well as other important immune system players.
Besides understanding if exercise improves immunity, the researchers are trying to understand why this might be the case. To do this, they are studying the psychosocial effects of exercise, monitoring such intangibles as stress levels and sense of purpose, to determine if the effects are due to psychological improvements. To help determine if neuroendocrine factors released during exercise, such as adrenaline and noradrenaline, may play a role in enhancing the immune response, researchers are testing the effects of exercise on people who take beta blockers, drugs that block the release of adrenaline to help slow the heart rate and lower blood pressure.
“If these chemicals do mediate the effects of exercise on the immune response, we would expect the changes in immunity due to exercise to be different in this group of subjects,” says Dr. Kohut.
For more information, visit Dr. Kohut’s Web page.
Courtesy: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases