TY - JOUR
T1 - Elderly humans show prolonged in vivo inflammatory activity during pneumococcal infections
AU - Bruunsgaard, Helle
AU - Skinhøj, Peter
AU - Qvist, Jesper
AU - Pedersen, Bente Klarlund
N1 - Funding Information:
Financial support: Velux Foundation; Danish Foundation for Medical Research, region of Copenhagen, Faeroe Islands, and Greenland; Danish Research Council (grant 9503346 to H.B.).
PY - 1999
Y1 - 1999
N2 - Levels of circulating cytokines were measured in 22 hospitalized patients with pneumococcal infections during the first week after admission, to test for age-associated differences. Twenty-two healthy age- and sex- matched subjects were included as controls. Concentrations of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-1 receptor antagonist, soluble TNF receptor I (sTNFR-I), and IL-10 were increased on admission (P < .05), but macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1β was not. Whereas levels of cytokines were similar on admission, levels of TNF-α and sTNFR-I after 1 week were higher (P < .05) in elderly (68-91 years) than in young (37-55 years) patients. Furthermore, plasma levels of IL-10 and sTNFR-I after 1 week were positively correlated with age, and the declines in sTNFR-I and in the TNFα/IL-10 ratio from day 0 to day 7 were correlated with age. Thus, aging was associated with prolonged inflammatory activity. This may reflect decreased ability to control the infection or a dysregulated cytokine response.
AB - Levels of circulating cytokines were measured in 22 hospitalized patients with pneumococcal infections during the first week after admission, to test for age-associated differences. Twenty-two healthy age- and sex- matched subjects were included as controls. Concentrations of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-1 receptor antagonist, soluble TNF receptor I (sTNFR-I), and IL-10 were increased on admission (P < .05), but macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1β was not. Whereas levels of cytokines were similar on admission, levels of TNF-α and sTNFR-I after 1 week were higher (P < .05) in elderly (68-91 years) than in young (37-55 years) patients. Furthermore, plasma levels of IL-10 and sTNFR-I after 1 week were positively correlated with age, and the declines in sTNFR-I and in the TNFα/IL-10 ratio from day 0 to day 7 were correlated with age. Thus, aging was associated with prolonged inflammatory activity. This may reflect decreased ability to control the infection or a dysregulated cytokine response.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0033502284&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1086/314873
DO - 10.1086/314873
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 10395881
AN - SCOPUS:0033502284
SN - 0022-1899
VL - 180
SP - 551
EP - 554
JO - Journal of Infectious Diseases
JF - Journal of Infectious Diseases
IS - 2
ER -