Scientists say that elderly coronavirus patients could be given anti-aging drugs to help restore their young immune system and fight the coronavirus. There are over 80% of COVID-19 patients that are over 65 years old with a greater than 23-fold increased risk of death.
Weakening immune system
As a person ages, the immune system becomes suppressed and it also takes longer for the body to recognize and attack the virus. It gives the virus time to cause serious damage in the body, and it may be heightened due to preexisting health conditions. However, Harvard scientists say that this could be fixed with NAD boosters which are a new class of anti-aging supplements.
Lower levels of NAD+ in the body due to aging are thought to impair biological functions that are important to health, and it can contribute to age-related illnesses. NAD is said to be the closest that people have to a fountain of youth.
Evidence shows that older people are more at risk of coronavirus. NHS data shows that 72% of COVID-19 patients that are over the age of 60 years old. More than 20,000 people who died of COVID-19 in England are over the age of 60.
According to the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School team said that the severity of coronavirus symptoms experienced by a patient depends on how their body responds to the virus when it enters the body. Preexisting conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, fail to explain why the elderly are less resilient.
An effective immune system can recognize the virus, alter the body to it, and then destroy it fast then clear it from the body. In a young person, the immune cells recognize the COVID-19 virus when it first enters the upper respiratory tract. The immune cells then act to kill the virus and infected cells, thus preventing the spread of the virus. However, these mechanisms are dysfunctional in the elderly.
The viral alert signals are slow in the elderly, and it results in greater viral replication and the movement of the virus into the lower respiratory tract where it can infect more cells. When a person ages, the immune system changes in two fundamental ways which are the reason behind the high mortality rates in older patients.
There is a gradual decline in immune function, called immunosenescence, which stops the body's ability to recognize pathogens and respond to them effectively. The second change in the immune system is a chronic increase in inflammation. It means that the body overzealously registers the presence of a pathogen but fails to effectively respond to it.
Importance of NAD+
NAD+ lowers as a person's age, and it can result in the depression of other important proteins and enzymes, and the surge of others. NLPR3 is thought to be hyperactivated when NAD+ levels drop. It also does not help that NAD+ levels are depleted during the course of COVID-19.
There are NAD booster supplements that contain nicotinamide riboside, which is a form of vitamin B3. When it is taken as a supplement, the body converts the nicotinamide riboside to NAD+, which is the coenzyme found in younger people. These boosters can be given to the elderly to give them a better fighting chance against COVID-19, according to scientists.
There is still research that needs to be done in older people to understand the threat of the virus more, especially among different ages.
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