An Aging Immune System May Explain Why Covid-19 Is So Harmful to the Elderly
A doctor explains ‘inflammaging’
Much has been discovered about the novel coronavirus over the past six months. Statistical data has established that infection with the virus, SARS-CoV-2, is significantly more deadly in the elderly as compared to younger patients. If researchers can figure out why, it could lead to important advances in treatment.
The answer, it appears, may be due to the increased inflammation that occurs as humans age, a process scientists call inflammaging.
Recent data indicates adults over the age of 80 are hundreds of times more likely to die from Covid-19 as compared to those under the age of 40. As the body ages, so does its immune system. Thus, the prevailing thought is that our immune response to the virus becomes defective with increased age.
Why does this happen? Is it because the aging immune system is somehow weaker, or perhaps becomes hyperresponsive to viral intruders? Interestingly, the answer is likely both. To understand this concept we need to consider each branch of the army that comprises the body’s immune system.
When an elderly individual becomes infected with SARS-CoV-2, evidence is mounting that the…
