VITAMIN E AND INFECTION IN THE ELDERLY

描述（改编自申请人的摘要）：一般的感染， 特别是呼吸道感染（RI），在 疗养院，是发病和死亡的主要原因之一， 老人 老年人感染的发病率增加， 多因素的 然而，一个主要的促成因素是众所周知的 随着年龄的增长，细胞和体液免疫力下降。 死亡率较高， 发病率以及较低程度的自给自足， 在免疫反应受损的老年人中报告。 申请人 已经证明短期和长期补充维生素E 显著改善老年人的免疫反应。 此外，委员会认为， 初步结果似乎表明，补充维生素E的老年人 个人自我报告的传染病发病率降低30%， 与安慰剂组相比。 补充维生素E的老年小鼠也有 与老年小鼠相比，流感感染后肺部病毒滴度较低 摄入足够的维生素E据推测，在 这种应用，补充维生素E将提高 长期护理老年人的免疫应答 这反过来又会降低发病率和严重程度。 这将导致病假天数减少， 抗生素的使用 该项目的具体目标是确定 补充维生素E一年对RI发生率的影响， 病假总天数和抗生素使用，以及体内和体外 细胞介导的免疫指标。 这项研究将试图测试 维生素E干预的影响，使用临床和免疫学 终点，在脆弱的长期疗养院居民的人口。 结果旨在提供基本的和应用的见解， 所涉及的机制，要实现的目标，以及如何加强 加强干预，扩大影响。

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from the Applicant's Abstract): Infections in general, and respiratory infections (RI) in particular, are highly prevalent in nursing homes, and are one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in the elderly. The increased incidence of infections in the elderly is multifactorial. A major contributing factor, however, is the well-described decline in cellular and humoral immunity with age. Higher mortality and morbidity, as well as a lesser degree of self-sufficiency, have been reported in elderly people with impaired immune response. The applicants have shown that short- and long-term supplementation with vitamin E significantly improves immune response in elderly humans. Furthermore, preliminary results appear to show that vitamin E-supplemented older individuals had a 30% lower incidence of self-reported infectious diseases compared to a placebo group. Old mice supplemented with vitamin E also have lower lung viral titer following influenza infection compared to old mice consuming an adequate level of vitamin E. It is therefore hypothesized, in this application, that supplementation with vitamin E will enhance the immune response of elderly individuals residing in long-term care facilities; and that this, in turn, will reduce the incidence and severity of RI, which should result in a lower number of sick days and less antibiotic use. The Specific Aims of the project are to determine the effect of one year of vitamin E supplementation on the incidence of RI, total number of sick days and antibiotic use, and in vivo and in vitro indices of cell-mediated immunity. The study will attempt to test the impact of a vitamin E intervention, using clinical and immunological endpoints, in a population of vulnerable long-term nursing home residents. The results are intended to provide basic and applied insight into the mechanisms involved, the goals to be realized, and ways to sharpen the intervention and enhance its impact.