Nutrients Boost Immunity

Posted December 14, 2002

by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer

Elderly adults who took a complete nutritional supplement for 7 months mounted stronger antibody responses to influenza immunization compared with adults who did not receive the supplement.

"The impact of influenza infection on morbidity and mortality in the elderly population can be severe," commented Wendeline Wouters-Wesseling and colleagues at Numico Research B.V., and Wageningen and Erasmus Universities in the Netherlands. "Influenza vaccination is not very effective in this age group, which is potentially related to impaired nutritional status."

The investigators supplied 19 adults, aged 65 and older, with a placebo or a complete nutritional supplement drink that contained vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants for 7 months. Before receiving an influenza vaccine and again 28 days afterward, the subjects underwent testing for levels of antibodies specific to influenza strains A/Sydney/5/97 (SY), A/Beijing/262/95 (BE), and B/Yamanashi/166/98 (YA).

The mean increase in anti-SY antibody titers after vaccination was significantly greater in the supplement group than in the placebo group (2.76 vs. 1.91, respectively) (Effect of a complete nutritional supplement on antibody response to influenza vaccine in elderly people. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 2002;57(9):M563-M566).

In contrast, no significant differences were found between the two groups of subjects in the vaccination-induced increase of BE- or YA-specific antibody titers. The percentage of patients achieving protective antibody levels did not differ between the groups.

"We conclude that provision of a complete liquid nutrition supplement including enhanced levels of antioxidants may have a beneficial effect on antibody response to influenza vaccination in the elderly population," said Wouters-Wesseling and associates.

They added, "Further confirmation of these findings and their clinical consequences should be the subject of a larger study."

Key points reported in this study include:

* Elderly subjects who included a complete nutritional supplement in their diet for 7 months had a significantly larger increase in antibodies specific for the influenza strain A/Sydney/5/97 after influenza vaccination than did subjects who took a placebo

* Postvaccination increases in antibodies specific for the influenza strains A/Beijing/262/95 and B/Yamanashi/166/98 were similar in elderly subjects who included a complete nutritional supplement in their diet for 7 months and in subjects who took a placebo

* No significant difference was seen in the percentage of subjects who achieved protective levels of anti-influenza antibodies after vaccination between the supplement group and the placebo group This article was prepared by Immunotherapy Weekly editors from staff and other reports.

The corresponding author for this study is Wendeline Wouters-Wesseling, Numico Research B.V., P.O. Box 7005, 6700 CA Wageningen, The Netherlands. E-mail: wendeline.wouters-wesseling@numico-research.nl.

Date: December 9, 2002

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