In paragraph formation, may I have help with these questions? Thank you. Ms. R,

Question

In paragraph formation, may I have help with these questions? Thank you.

Ms. R, aged 72 years, returns to the clinic today for the fourth time in 6 months. She has had various infections, including otitis media, bacterial pharyngitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia. She does not understand why she keeps getting sick.

1.What are some changes in the immune system that occur with aging?

2.Why do older adults tend to have an increased incidence of autoimmune and immune complex problems?

3.Why is self-regulation so important?

Explanation / Answer

Answer:

1. The immune system becomes less effective in the following ways:

a. The immune system becomes less able to distinguish self from nonself (that is, to identify foreign antigens). As a result, autoimmune disorders become more common.

b. Macrophages (which ingest bacteria and other foreign cells) destroy bacteria, cancer cells, and other antigens more slowly. This slowdown may be one reason that cancer is more common among older people.

c. T cells (which remember antigens they have previously encountered) respond less quickly to the antigens.

d. There are fewer white blood cells capable of responding to new antigens. Thus, when older people encounter a new antigen, the body is less able to remember and defend against it.

e. Older people have smaller amounts of complement proteins and do not produce as many of these proteins as younger people do in response to bacterial infections.

f. The amount of antibody produced in response to an antigen is less, and the antibodies are less able to attach to the antigen. These changes may partly explain why pneumonia, influenza, infectious endocarditis, and tetanus are more common among older people and result in death more often.

2. The frequent development of autoimmunity in the elderly was suggested to take place in part due to the selection of T cells with increased affinity to self-antigens or to latent viruses. These cells were shown to have a greater ability to be pro-inflammatory, thereby amplifying autoimmunity.

During aging, thymic T-regulatory cell output decreases in association with the loss of thymic capacity to generate new T cells. However, to balance the above mentioned autoimmunity and prevent the development of autoimmune diseases, there is an age-related increase in peripheral CD4+ CD25highFoxP3+ T-regulatory cells. The expansion of T-regulatory cells requires payment in terms of an increased incidence of cancer and higher susceptibility to infections.

3. In general, the term "self-regulation" is used to refer to a range of characteristics and abilities. An elderly person with self -regulatory skills is able to focus her attention, control her emotions and manage her thinking, behavior and feelings.

Collaborative patient self-management in primary care has been repeatedly demonstrated to be efficacious in reducing both symptoms and increasing quality of life. Self-management interventions rest on a foundation of five core actions:

a) activate motivation to change

b) apply domain-specific information from education and self-monitoring

c) develop skills

d) acquire environmental resources

e) build social support

The outcome of self-management interventions is that patients have the skills to monitor markers of health and disease, make decisions to modify their own behavior, and develop individualized goal-setting and action plans.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse I
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.