H Hof 1 , J Bartel Show Affiliations »
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: It is generally recommended to vaccinate elderly people against tetanus. Is this really essential? PATIENTS AND METHODS: The levels of antibodies to tetanus toxin in serum of 2936 individuals of various age groups were determined by means of an ELISA. RESULTS: Obviously, the antibody titers definitely diminish in the old individuals. About 50 % of people > 80 years possess antibody titers < 0.5 IU/ml and about 30 % antibody titers < 0.1 IU/ml, which means that they are not absolutely protected against tetanus. CONCLUSION: This, however is not due to a general decline of antibodies, since levels of immunoglobulins of the classes IgG, IgM and especially of IgA are higher with growing age.It can be assumed that the awareness for the necessity for vaccination is lacking. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: It is generally recommended to vaccinate elderly people against tetanus . Is this really essential? PATIENTS AND METHODS: The levels of antibodies to tetanus toxin in serum of 2936 individuals of various age groups were determined by means of an ELISA. RESULTS: Obviously, the antibody titers definitely diminish in the old individuals. About 50 % of people > 80 years possess antibody titers < 0.5 IU/ml and about 30 % antibody titers < 0.1 IU/ml, which means that they are not absolutely protected against tetanus . CONCLUSION: This, however is not due to a general decline of antibodies, since levels of immunoglobulins of the classes IgG, IgM and especially of IgA are higher with growing age.It can be assumed that the awareness for the necessity for vaccination is lacking. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
Entities: Disease
Species
Mesh： See more »
Substances： See more »
Year: 2011
PMID： 21246472 DOI： 10.1055/s-0031-1272499
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Dtsch Med Wochenschr ISSN： 0012-0472 Impact factor: 0.628