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Immune Dysregulation and the Increased Risk of Complications and Mortality Following Respiratory Tract Infections in

Tomer Illouz^1,2, Arya Biragyn³, Maria Florencia Iulita^4,5,6

¹The Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.

Frontiers in Immunology

|July 12, 2021

Abstract:

The risk of severe outcomes following respiratory tract infections is significantly increased in individuals over 60 years, especially in those with chronic medical conditions, i.e., hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer. Down Syndrome (DS), the most prevalent intellectual disability, is caused by trisomy-21 in ~1:750 live births worldwide. Over the past few decades, a substantial body of evidence has accumulated, pointing at the occurrence of alterations, impairments, and subsequently dysfunction of the various components of the immune system in individuals with DS. This associates with increased vulnerability to respiratory tract infections in this population, such as the influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), and bacterial pneumonias. To emphasize this link, here we comprehensively review the immunobiology of DS and its contribution to higher susceptibility to severe illness and mortality from respiratory tract infections.

Keywords:

COVID-19 Down syndrome hospitalization immune dysregulation interferon respiratory tract infections

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