[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/9451\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ENext-gen vaccines set to maintain immunity as the years advance\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EVaccines are much less effective in the elderly than they are in the young, making people far more susceptible to serious infection as they age \u2013 a fact that became widely apparent during the Covid-19 pandemic.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhy vaccine potency wanes is poorly understood and scientists are on a quest to develop a new generation of vaccines and vaccination strategies that offer strong protection throughout our lives.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EScientists need to grasp why a person\u2019s natural fightback to an invading microorganism becomes blunted with age in a process known as immunosenescence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We know the immune system changes with age, and that this has huge consequences on health and age-related deterioration,\u2019 said Debbie Van Baarle, professor of immunology of vaccinations at the University Medical Centre Groningen and the Centre for Infectious Disease Control in the Netherlands. \u2018But the extent and precise nature of these changes, and what we can learn to improve vaccines is largely unknown.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018With more information, we could make vaccines a better fit for every patient, at every stage of life.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EImmunosenescence\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe human immune system is immensely complex, with a raft of specialist molecules and cells working in concert to fight infection and return the body to a state of equilibrium (known as homeostasis) after a bout of ill-health. How this interplay of cells and molecules changes with age underpins the work of immunosenescence researchers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EWe are looking for factors that can be used to identify people who respond less well to regular vaccination, so we know who may need a different way of being vaccinated.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDebbie Van Baarle, VITAL\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EProf Van Baarle is scientific lead of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/806776\u0022\u003EVITAL\u003C\/a\u003E, an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.imi.europa.eu\/\u0022\u003EInnovative Medicines Initiative\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;project which provides evidence-based knowledge to develop targeted and efficient vaccination strategies for older adults. Researchers hope to understand what factors hamper people\u2019s immune responses as they age.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If we discover that a certain part of the immune system doesn\u2019t respond so well to vaccines after a certain age, then we\u2019ll need to ask questions around this,\u2019 said Prof Van Baarle.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018For instance, should we be priming the immune system at an earlier age, when it is still fit?\u2019 she said. \u2018Should we be using different vaccine technology for older people or different vaccine adjuvants (substances added to a vaccine to evoke an immune response) for people in a certain age group?\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EImproving immune response\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAs part of Prof Van Baarle\u2019s study, volunteers aged 25-90 donated blood samples after receiving the influenza and then the pneumococcal vaccine. Researchers are analysing these samples, observing the immune response at multiple levels and searching for patterns in age-related changes to the molecules (e.g., antibodies) and cells (some of which produce antibodies) that are most critical to a person\u2019s immune response.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are looking for factors that can be used to identify people who respond less well to regular vaccination, so we know who may need a different way of being vaccinated,\u2019 said Prof Van Baarle.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETailored vaccines\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In a perfect world, health systems will one day offer a tailored vaccine service where you will go to your family doctor, and they will say, \u201cHow old are you?\u201d\u2019 said Prof Van Baarle. \u2018\u201cWhat are your comorbidities? What is your immunological profile? What is your lifestyle risk profile?\u201d\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBased on this information, a doctor in this ideal future will decide on a vaccine protocol that best fits the needs of an individual.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EIf we discover that a certain part of the immune system doesn\u2019t respond so well to vaccines after a certain age, then we\u2019ll need to ask questions around this.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDebbie Van Baarle, VITAL\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe VITAL team are also investigating the economic impact of the current management of infectious diseases in ageing adults, and will develop mathematical tools to predict how these costs might change when preventative measures (such as new vaccines) are taken.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThese tools will be available to policymakers to determine the readiness of the population for a given infection, including a new pandemic. It will also help to improve preparedness. The goal is for each nation to reach maximum gains in health outcomes given their healthcare budgets and demographic trends.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EToday, every European country sets its own agenda for administering vaccines. For instance, some countries invite people aged 60+ for a booster to their varicella-zoster vaccine, to lower the risk of them developing shingles.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018But whatever a country decides is the best policy for vaccinating its people, its decisions should be based on scientific data and its communication with medical practitioners and patients should be robust,\u2019 said Prof Van Baarle.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDruggable targets\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/633964\u0022\u003EImmunoAgeing\u003C\/a\u003E project is looking at factors responsible for immunological unresponsiveness in the elderly. The researchers want to identify \u2018druggable targets\u2019 within the body \u2013 that is, cells or molecules that can either be suppressed or boosted to confer greater immunity in the elderly.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The main goal of our research is to alleviate the negative effects of ageing on the immune system and to promote good ageing,\u2019 said Prof Cucca \u2013 coordinator of ImmunoAgeing and a medical geneticist at the University of Sassari in Sardinia, Italy. \u2018By identifying links between specific (immune system) cell types, diseases, and genes, we can find ways to help older people respond better to pathogens.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ECucca\u2019s team is also investigating two biological phenomena known to increase with age and undermine health: autoreactivity (where a person\u2019s body launches an immune response against its own cells or tissues) and inflammaging (a chronic, low-grade inflammation with no known cause).\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EThe main goal of our research is to alleviate the negative effects of ageing on the immune system and to promote good ageing.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Francesco Cucca, ImmunoAgeing \u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Overall, the nature of all these changes experienced with advancing age, and their underlying genetic and biological causes, are still largely unknown,\u2019 said Prof Cucca. \u2018We aim to understand how specific immune cells and molecules relate to the functional competence of the immune system and the genetic and non-genetic factors that drive these changes.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EA first round of analysis yielded promising results as the researchers identified 16 immune-system molecules as \u201cdruggable targets\u201d to offer greater immunity in the elderly. As research continues, 12 of these may be treatable with drugs already being used to treat other unrelated conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Ch5\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. 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