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Journalism of Courage
As one ages, inflammation throughout the body reaches higher levels. Known as ‘inflammageing’, this can inhibit immunity. Because the most severe Covid-19 cases have occurred mostly in older people, researchers are investigating whether inflammageing has a role. Is it the trigger that causes extreme inflammatory responses, which are common in the lungs of severe Covid-19 patients?
In a Perspective published in the journal Science, researchers Arne Akbar and Derek Gilroy of University College London discuss the impact of inflammageing on immunity in ageing individuals. They suggest that reducing inflammation using anti-inflammatory drugs may provide a therapeutic strategy, not only for enhancing immunity but also for potentially improving Covid-19 outcomes in older patients.
In an article introducing the Perspective, Science publisher American Association for the Advancement of Science explains how our immune system weakens with age. As this happens, our bodily defence systems respond more slowly to bacterial and viral infections, leaving the elderly more vulnerable.
In addition to the deterioration of immunity, another common condition of ageing is inflammageing. This is characterised by chronic low-grade inflammation, which occurs without an infection. While inflammation is essential to the immune response, inflammageing is not. Research has shown that this state of elevated inflammation can worsen many age-related diseases, and further inhibit the response from an already declining immune system. In the case of Covid, the Perspective suggests it could be the initial trigger that kicks off the extreme inflammatory responses seen in the most severely ill patients.
