Vitamin E and infectious diseases in the aged

The incidence of infectious diseases, particularly respiratory diseases, increases with age. Age-associated decline in immune function contributes to the increased susceptibility of the aged to infections. Vitamin E supplementation has been shown to improve some aspects of immune function in aged animals and human subjects. The protective effect of vitamin E against viral or bacterial infections in experimentally-challenged young animals has been reported. We investigated the effects of supplementation with vitamin E and other antioxidants on resistance to influenza infection in young and old animals. While vitamin E-supplemented young mice showed only a modest reduction in lung viral titre, vitamin E-supplemented old mice exhibited a highly significant (P < 0.05) reduction in viral lung titre. In subsequent studies, we focused on the mechanism of vitamin E-induced reduction of influenza viral titre. The results of these studies as well as those reported by other investigators on the relationship between vitamin E and infectious diseases will be reviewed.