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Coronavirus in Children: New US Research Results - Immune System Is "Robust and Efficient"

2021-12-28T17:04:42.061Z


Coronavirus in Children: New US Research Results - Immune System Is "Robust and Efficient" Created: 12/28/2021, 5:51 PM By: Clara Marie Tietze Although children get sick more often than adults, their immune system does not seem to be any worse as a result. © dpa / Annette Riedl The spread of the coronavirus is picking up speed again. Children are also more and more affected - but new findings


Coronavirus in Children: New US Research Results - Immune System Is "Robust and Efficient"

Created: 12/28/2021, 5:51 PM

By: Clara Marie Tietze

Although children get sick more often than adults, their immune system does not seem to be any worse as a result.

© dpa / Annette Riedl

The spread of the coronavirus is picking up speed again.

Children are also more and more affected - but new findings about their immune system are surprising.

New York - Anyone who has children knows it: Especially in their younger years, the little ones bring home all the diseases they can pick up. This is not particularly reassuring, especially in times of the coronavirus. Whether in kindergarten, school or after-school care, children are often sick. But this is by no means because their immune system is simply susceptible, as is often assumed - exactly the opposite is the case, according to new research results from the USA.

In the journal

Science Immunology

, researchers from the United States report on a new study on mice and human T cells.

There it was shown that the T cells reacted particularly strongly to viruses when they were unknown.

The reason for the frequent diseases is simply that babies and toddlers in particular encounter many viruses that they are not yet familiar with.

According to study director Donna Farber from Columbia University, the child's immune system has not earned the reputation of being particularly weak and vulnerable.

Children's immune systems stronger than you think: New research results from the USA

In order to examine the immune system in young and old, T cells were collected from mice. These are defense cells that fulfill various functions. Some recognize and attack the virus directly, while others serve as memory cells for later combating known viruses. A distinction is also made between normal T cells and naive T cells, i.e. those that have not yet come into contact with a virus.

By administering T cells and then infecting the mice with a flu virus, the researchers were able to determine a clear difference between the reactions of the young and those of the adult mice.

This is because the younger mice responded much more strongly to much smaller amounts of the virus than the adult mice.

In the older animals, the virus cells were able to multiply much faster.

US researchers find out: "Children do better" when compared with adults' immune systems

It came as a surprise to the researchers: "This means that the infant's immune system is robust and efficient and can eliminate pathogens at an early age," says study leader Faber. "In some ways, it may even be better than an adult's immune system because it is designed to respond to a wide variety of new pathogens."

According to Marcus Peters, head of the Lung Immunology Working Group at the Ruhr University Bochum, this can easily be explained: “Early childhood is the time when a particularly large number of T cells are formed in the thymus.

With increasing age, fewer and fewer T cells are formed, which means that the ability to react to new things also decreases. ”But that does not mean that adults and older people are unprotected.

All they have at their disposal over the years is a very pronounced treasure trove of T cells that memorize the information from the pathogens that have already been overcome.

Multiple vaccinations in children are not a problem: the immune system is stronger than expected

This is exactly what is playing into the cards of young people during the pandemic.

Because younger people are used to the constant flood of viruses, older people are no longer.

Specifically, that means: "The children do better," says Peters.

According to the immunologist, there is no need to worry about the immune system being overwhelmed if you have several vaccinations at the same time, as that is not possible.

Because: “The antigens in the vaccines that trigger an immune response only ever activate the T cells that exactly match them.

For example, T cells that respond to the coronavirus do not respond to pneumococci. "

In addition to vaccination, a “promising” drug, according to Health Minister Lauterbach, has recently also played a role - the federal government has already ordered a million packs.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-12-28

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