Our immune system plays a very central role in our health. From birth to old age, our immune system must constantly adapt to the new environment and learn to ward off threatening influences such as infections or cancer cells and, on the other hand, must not trigger excessive reactions
Univ.-Prof. Dr.Dr. Wolfram Hötzenecker, President of the Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology (ÖGAI)
Vienna (OTS) –Immunology Day is celebrated worldwide on April 29th. This day of action is intended to raise awareness of the importance of immunology and immunological research in the fight for lifelong health and individual well-being. This year’s theme is: Immunity and Aging: Navigating the Science of Aging and Immunology! The Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology (ÖGAI) is the national expert platform for scientifically proven information on immunology topics and provides recommendations for both doctors and the general public free of charge. More at www.oegai.org
Worldwide, the proportion of people over 60 in the population is increasing rapidly. By 2030 it will already be around a third. The performance of the immune system can decline, particularly as we get older. This year, “Immunology Day” is dedicated to the topic of healthy aging and provides information about how the immune system influences the aging process.
Research groups in Austria are also working on the topic. The Research Institute for Biomedical Aging Research The University of Innsbruck’s goal is to help people grow old with dignity and good health. The aim of the research is to investigate aging processes at the molecular, cellular and organismic level in order to better understand age-related changes and impairments. The working group of Prof. Dr. Birgit Weinberger, for example, researches immune responses after booster vaccinations such as tetanus/diphtheria, which can have an insufficient effect, particularly in older people. As part of a large European consortium (VITAL), the research group is investigating the immune response after flu and pneumococcal vaccination in different age groups. “A better understanding of the basic mechanisms of immune responses and in-depth analyzes of vaccine-induced immune responses in older adults are crucial for the development of optimal vaccines for this age group,” explains Weinberger.
Gut bacteria influence healthy aging
Our immune system is in constant contact with the microbes that surround us and live with us. For example, the intestinal barrier plays a special role in health and illness. As we get older, not only the immune system but also the cellular junctions of the intestinal mucosa and the microbial composition of the intestinal bacteria change. “Studies on centenarians provide insights into the characteristics of the intestinal barrier that are associated with longevity,” reports Prof. Dr. Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber, head of the Gastrointestinal Immunology research group at MedUni Vienna. The knowledge gathered so far could help define strategies to prevent the development of diseases in older people. Targeted measures to improve the general barrier function will therefore be important disease prevention strategies for healthy aging in the future.
More experts for Austria’s allergy sufferers
Pollen allergies, as well as food or medication allergies, are plaguing more and more people. In order to respond to the constant demand for experts in this field, additional training as an allergist was introduced in Austria, as already exists in other European countries. The first graduates of the new specialization are expected this year. This is urgently needed because this field is constantly facing new challenges due to changing pollen counts in times of climate change, new invasive species and changing living conditions such as increased urban living environments.
About Immunology Day
Immunology Day was launched by the European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS) and took place for the first time on April 29, 2005. It has been celebrated worldwide since 2007. The day is intended to raise public awareness of the importance of immunology and immunological research as a basis for the fight against infections, cancer or autoimmune diseases. Although health topics are often in the public interest, people without a scientific background often miss the knowledge and importance of the relevance of immunological research and findings. We encounter “fake news” almost every day, especially in non-scientific media. Scientists therefore use Immunology Day to communicate their ever-growing knowledge and understanding of the immune system to an audience outside the scientific community.
About the Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology (ÖGAI)
The ÖGAI has been around for more than 50 years die Platform for Austrian immunology. The society brings together scientists and doctors who work on the immune system and its diseases. “Our immune system plays a very central role in our health. From birth to old age, our immune system must constantly adapt to the new environment and learn to ward off threatening influences such as infections or cancer cells and, on the other hand, must not trigger excessive reactions“, says ÖGAI President Univ.-Prof. Dr.Dr. Wolfram Hotzenecker. If problems arise in this complex interaction, immunology will be required to identify faulty reactions in order to be able to treat them specifically.
The motto of the ÖGAI is: “Life for research. Research for Life”. It has always been their goal to promote interdisciplinary education and training and especially the next generation of scientists in order to further improve the lives of patients with allergies and immune diseases. The “Next Generation Immunologists” group is particularly active here with funding programs and meetings. Furthermore, a “gender equality” task force was founded to promote gender equality and career development.
The ÖGAI is well networked worldwide with the societies for allergology and immunology and will in the future expand cooperation with other specialist areas such as dermatology, rheumatology, vaccinology, pediatrics, gastroenterology, occupational medicine and general medicine, but also aerobiology and environmental medicine – especially in order to to correspond to the One Health idea. The health of people, animals and the environment are closely linked.
Questions & Contact:
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dr. Wolfram Hötzenecker President of the Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology (ÖGAI) T: 01/405 13 83 news 21 (ÖGAI-Secretariat, Fr. Serfezi) E: wolfram.hoetzenecker@kepleruniklinikum.at
Elisabeth Leeb T: 0699/1 424 77 79 E: leeb.elisabeth@aon.at
