OKLAHOMA CITY – Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have discovered a unique reaction to flu vaccines by older men and women that they hope to use to develop a better quality product.
The research, which was published recently in the journal “Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses,” started by looking at why flu shots didn’t seem to produce as many flu-fighting antibodies for people over age 65 as they did for younger patients.
First, they found that older men and women had a lower antibody response to vaccines because they already had many more antibodies from years of flu vaccinations. Younger patients who had not received as many vaccines had lower levels of antibodies before the shot, so they showed a greater increase.
More importantly, though, researchers found that byproducts in flu vaccines that are not protective against influenza were more detrimental to older patients. Their bodies were making nearly as many antibodies against the byproducts created during the manufacturing and sterilization processes as against the intact protective components of the vaccine.
Researchers at OU are now working to develop a cleaner vaccine and plan to test its effectiveness for older patients.
“The antibody response starts to drop off at about age 65 and definitely by age 75. A better quality vaccine would cause the remaining antibodies to bind tighter to the virus, which should be more effective at stopping it,” said Gillian Air, a biochemist and renowned influenza expert at the OU College of Medicine.
Based on research results, scientists are suggesting vaccine makers use another layer of screening during the manufacturing process to weed out more of the extra components, particularly in flu shots for older recipients.
