Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
We compared virus-specific antibody and T-cell responses to influenza virus vaccination in 32 caregivers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and matched control subjects. Caregivers showed a poorer antibody response and virus-specific T-cell response following vaccination compared to the control subjects as measured by fourfold increases in antibody titers to the vaccine and lower levels of virus-induced IL-2 levels in vitro. We performed a second study in which forty-eight medical students were inoculated with a series of three injections of the hepatitis-B (HEP-B) vaccine to coincide with the third day of three, three-day examination blocks. Twelve of the 48 medical students seroconverted after the first injection; these students were characterized by falling into the lower stressed/lower anxiety group of students. Students who reported greater social support and lower anxiety and stress demonstrated a higher antibody response to the vaccine and a more vigorous T-cell response to HEP-B surface antigen at the end of the third examination experience. The differences in antibody and T-cell responses to HEP-B and influenza virus vaccinations provide a demonstration of how stress may be able to alter both the cellular and humoral immune responses to vaccines and novel pathogens in both younger and older adults.
Glaser et al. (Fri,) studied this question.