About this Research Topic
Immunosenescence is a term that usually describes the quantitative and functional changes that occur in the innate and adaptive compartments of the immune system during normal human ageing. The functional remodeling in cellular subsets significantly impacts the course of neuro-inflammatory conditions, response to vaccines, and tumor surveillance. Ageing is associated with immune dysregulation, of which the most evident characteristics are high blood levels of pro-inflammatory immunogenic stimulations, known as inflammageing.
Patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) have an immune system iatrogenically altered by disease modifying therapies (DMTs) with variable grades of immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory functions. Over the past decade, the emergence of several novel immunotherapeutic agents and their association with infections highlighted the relevance of immunosenescence to the risk of infection in older patients. Furthermore, the aging of population causes changes in percentages of CD4, CD8 T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and the innate compartment of the immune system.
Nowadays, the approval of new DMTs for the treatment of MS and the ageing of population make of growing importance the attempt to explain how the immune system alterations can be additive to, or synergistic with, the changes induced by therapies with regard to the risk of infections and to the disease course (activity and progression). Real-world studies have little investigated the efficacy and the safety profile of DMTs in the MS elderly population and clinical trials are not sufficiently informative, due to age cut-offs often being part of their inclusion criteria.
The aim of the Research Topic is to provide new insights into immunosenescence phenomenon in MS population to identify how ageing can influence disease trajectory and response/tolerability to DMTs.
Therefore, the Topic Editors welcome contributions on, but not limited to:
• Immunosenescence
• Inflammageing
• Age and MS disease course (progression, disease activity)
• Late onset MS
• Ageing and efficacy of DMTs
• Ageing and safety concerns/risk of infections with DMTs
Topic Editor Carlo Avolio received research support from Biogen, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Roche, and Sanofi-Genzyme. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.
Patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) have an immune system iatrogenically altered by disease modifying therapies (DMTs) with variable grades of immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory functions. Over the past decade, the emergence of several novel immunotherapeutic agents and their association with infections highlighted the relevance of immunosenescence to the risk of infection in older patients. Furthermore, the aging of population causes changes in percentages of CD4, CD8 T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and the innate compartment of the immune system.
Nowadays, the approval of new DMTs for the treatment of MS and the ageing of population make of growing importance the attempt to explain how the immune system alterations can be additive to, or synergistic with, the changes induced by therapies with regard to the risk of infections and to the disease course (activity and progression). Real-world studies have little investigated the efficacy and the safety profile of DMTs in the MS elderly population and clinical trials are not sufficiently informative, due to age cut-offs often being part of their inclusion criteria.
The aim of the Research Topic is to provide new insights into immunosenescence phenomenon in MS population to identify how ageing can influence disease trajectory and response/tolerability to DMTs.
Therefore, the Topic Editors welcome contributions on, but not limited to:
• Immunosenescence
• Inflammageing
• Age and MS disease course (progression, disease activity)
• Late onset MS
• Ageing and efficacy of DMTs
• Ageing and safety concerns/risk of infections with DMTs
Topic Editor Carlo Avolio received research support from Biogen, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Roche, and Sanofi-Genzyme. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.
Keywords: immunosenescence, inflammageing, multiple sclerosis, disease modifying therapies, efficacy, safety concerns
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