Characterisation and Treatment of Innate Immune Dysfunction in Older People with Obstructive Airway Disease

老年人的呼吸道问题正在增加。60岁以上人群中最常见的两种呼吸道问题是哮喘和慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）。这些疾病对老年人的生活质量有重大影响。气道炎症是年轻人气道疾病症状和恶化的重要媒介，然而对老年人气道炎症知之甚少。我们将研究老年气道疾病患者的气道炎症，并与年轻和老年健康对照进行比较。虽然随着年龄的增长，我们的身体会发生许多变化，但我们并不了解衰老是如何影响气道疾病的。随着年龄增长而发生的一些变化包括炎症增加和对感染的易感性增加。我们不知道这些变化是如何影响呼吸系统疾病患者的，也不知道它们是如何发生的。患有呼吸道疾病的老年人的呼吸道感染往往导致住院治疗，一些细菌病原体可以在气道中存活很长时间而没有典型的感染症状。这种细菌的持续存在会导致炎症细胞和化学物质的涌入增加，从而导致气道的破坏，并导致气道结构的变化，这种变化是不可逆转的。我们将调查有或没有气道疾病的老年人的细菌感染，并研究免疫系统的一个重要途径，即先天免疫。我们将评估衰老本身对这些免疫反应的影响，以及相关气道疾病的影响。我们还将在呼吸道疾病的老年人身上试验一种抗炎疗法，他们的呼吸道中有持续存在的细菌，看看这是否有助于减少炎症，减少呼吸道中持续存在的细菌。对于澳大利亚老年人来说，这是一个普遍且日益严重的问题，这些都是令人兴奋的新方法。

Airway problems in older people are increasing. The two most common airway problems in people over the age of 60 are asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD. These diseases have a major impact of the quality of life of older people. Airway inflammation is an important mediator of symptoms and exacerbations in younger people with airway disease, however little is understood about airway inflammation in the elderly. We will study airway inflammation in older people with airway disease and make comparisons with both younger and older healthy controls. While many changes occur in our bodies with age, we do not understand how ageing affects airway disease. Some of the changes which occur with ageing include increased inflammation and an increased susceptibility to infection. We do not understand how these changes affect people with respiratory disease or how they occur. Respiratory infections in older people with airway disease often result in hospitalisation, and some bacterial pathogens can survive in the airways for long periods of time without the typical symptoms of infection. This bacterial persistence can lead to an increased influx of inflammatory cells and chemicals which can cause destruction of the airways and lead to changes in the airway structure that are not reversible. We will investigate bacterial infection in older people with and without airway disease and investigate an important pathway of the immune system called innate immunity. We will assess the influence of ageing itself on these immune responses, and also the impact of associated airway disease. We will also trial an anti-inflammatory therapy in older people with airway disease who have persisting bacteria in their airways to see if this will help reduce inflammation and reduce the bacteria that persist in the airways. These are new and exciting approaches to a common and increasing problem for older Australians.