Florida-based Scripps Research Institute scientists found that aging hinders the immune system. Cell Reports journal published the study.
Here are five things to know:
1. The study found aging hurts the production of new immune cells, decreasing the immune system's response to vaccines.
2. The study reveals the first evidence of the connection between normal immune function and antioxidants. Antioxidants can slow this harmful process.
3. Researchers focused on the thymus organ, which produces immune cells T lymphocytes, which are critical in fighting infections. They found that the thymus atrophy more rapidly than other body tissues.
4. The researchers found that stromal cells were deficient in catalase, which resulted in elevated levels of reactive oxygen by-products of metabolism and metabolic damage.
5. The study supports the 'free-radical theory' of aging, in which reactive oxygen species produced during metabolism cause cellular damage that contributes to age-related diseases.
TSRI professor Howard Petrie, PhD, said their study shows the "process is accelerated in the thymus by a deficiency in the essential protective effects of catalase, which is found at higher levels in almost all other body tissues."
