What is a "weakened immune system?"

[skooooo]

I've seen discussion of the body's response to the swine flu as depending on the strength of one's immune system.

So what constitutes a "weakened" immune system?

allergies??

asthma??

herpes??

obviously something like aids or leukemia?

Can someone explain it a little better?

[CJCRANE]

1. delete

not helpful

[Tab]

2. Susceptability

I just underwent chemo, which weakens the immune system. Likewise, HIV will weaken it. Basically it reduces your body's defenses to fight off infections - anything from simple colds to complex diseases.

[polichick]

3. An inability to fight off viruses, etc...

Some people get sick "at the drop of a hat" ~ while others stay well even when those around them are sick. One has a strong immune system, the other not so much.

[AllentownJake]

4. If your bodies immune system is fighting off a strong virus or bacteria

and another virus or bacteria takes up shop, than your body has to fight a two front battle is one way. The other way is you have an immune system that is not at full strength due to a pre-existing condition like asthma, MS, HIV, etc.

[skooooo]

13. Wondering if asthma always considered a sign of this...

..since I got it. I guess it is, but it's never been an advantage when colds come around. That's why it's hard to wrap your head around all of this.

[AllentownJake]

16. Well if its any comfort

If the flu is similar to the one in 1918, having a weakened immune system might be an advantage. My friend said today that the virus itself wasn't that bad, it was our bodies reaction to the virus and an over response by the immune system to kill it that killed most people.

[virgogal]

22. The largest group hit in 1918 were young,healthy adults,

Your explanation makes perfect sense to me.

[safeinOhio]

29. Old and sick here

first time that ever paid off.

[nilram]

32. yeah, I'm with ya

50 years old and feeling crummy. Woo-hoo!

[safeinOhio]

34. smoking, drugs, poor diet, COPD, 60

Hell I don't even need to wash my hands. Any of you healthy kids want to leave me your sports car?

[Tab]

37. The 1918 flu was an abnormality, in that it was preceded by a previous flu

One that was weak, but gave oldsters enough immunity and got transfered to the very young as well. The normally "healthy aged" adults missed out and when the 1918 flu rolled around, they got whacked.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

5. I'm no scientist, but

my first thought is AIDS, of course, which, untreated, destroys the immune system.

And, there are the autoimmune disorders, in which your immune system attacks your own body as if it were an alien invader, like an infection.

I just googled "weakened immune system," and there's a plethora of sites out there that can answer your questions.........

[skooooo]

9. I saw some of them...and they were advertisements..

But I'll keep looking.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

20. Clearly,

you didn't look at the first site that comes up on google - it's a very good and comprehensive definition, with a lot of relevant links.

http://www.diagnose-me.com/cond/C47006.html

[TahitiNut]

6. I thought it was a "week-end immune system."

You know ... healthy on Saturday and Sunday but sick enough to call in absent on Monday.

:dunce:

[eShirl]

7. anyone with an organ transplant is on immunosuppressants for life

to keep from rejecting the organ

[Profprileasn]

26. In addition to

immunosuppressants if your spleen has been removed, your immune system would be weakened.

[Joe the Revelator]

8. A stronger immune system may actually be worse if this flu ends up like the 1918 flu

http://www.fluwikie.com/index.php?n=Science.PrimerCytokineStorm

[skooooo]

11. Right...that's why I'm trying to understand what a ..

..weakened immune system is. I'll keep looking and read the article.

[targetpractice]

24. A "cytokine storm" occurs sometimes in a robust immune system...

Some young adults (20 - 40) have robust immune systems that react so vigorously to the swine flu virus that it causes an uncontrolled immune response that damages normal cells, especially in the lungs.

It should not follow from that statement that a "weakened immune system" is somehow helpful in avoiding complications from an H1N1 infection.

It seems like an age-related thing when it comes to the cytokine storm immune response.

[Gator_Matt]

31. Sounds like I'm not the only immunologist here

I didn't expect anyone to be throwing around "cytokine storm" on this board. Glad to see it. I'm more of an autoimmunity guy, so I'll stay out of this virology discussion.

[targetpractice]

36. Yikes... I'm not an immunologist...

I suppose I should make that disclaimer from now on.

Please do participate and correct me if I'm spreading misinformation.

I just distilling what I believe is important from what I've been reading based on my knowledge of cellular biology, biochemistry, and genetic evolutionary principles.

[Profprileasn]

28. actually

my understanding is that itis worse in the 18-30 age group where one would expect stronger immune systems. The very young and very old aren't the ones harder hit.

[dysfunctional press]

10. i have an auto-immune disorder that a lot of people choose to treat with immuno-suppressants...

with most auto-immune diseases, a person's immune system ends up attacking their body in some way, so often one of the easiest ways to treat it is by switching the immune system, or parts of it- OFF. that's not the route i've chosen, and for just this kind of occurrence.

[Individualist]

12. auto-immune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus,

Addison's disease and many others, are usually treated with drugs which weaken the immune system.

[skooooo]

14. I see..so it's maybe not so much the condition..

..but how it's treated that leads to the condition..hmm.

[Individualist]

15. There are illnesses that weaken the immune system as well as drugs

that weaken the auto-immune system.

[bluedawg12]

40. Auto-immune diseases are where the body attacks it's own tissue

as if it were foreign protein.

Therefore, the primary cause is within the bodies immune response to itself. For example in rheumatoid arthritis, the body attacks the joints due to this immune malfunction, so on occasion treatment has to actually go as far as suppressing the bodies' abnormal immune response to prevent multiple joints fro being destroyed.

It's a balancing act.

[Catherine Vincent]

17. Yes.

I suffer with grout sometimes and I have to take methylprednisone which weakens your immune system as you're taking it.

[MADem]

25. Gout, or grout? I need some grout in my bathroom...come on over!

Only foolin'...my sympathies. I understand that's painful, eh?

[Catherine Vincent]

27. Damn. Too late to edit.

Can't believe I made that typo. And yes, a flareup is very painful...like a truck resting on your feet.

[MADem]

33. That happens to me all the time....sometimes, despite my careful

proofreading and even the odd spellcheck, I manage to screw up and the odd letter winds up in my post.

Sorry about your gout. Can't be fun. Who knows, maybe stem cell research will find a cure for that and some of these other ailments?

[Medusa]

23. MS, Diabetes, many types of arthritis

and diabetes to name just a few.

Those undergoing chemotherapy/radiation or those who take immune-suppressant drugs are all at high risk.

[Avalux]

18. Let me try -

Babies whose immune systems aren't fully developed and older individuals whose immune systems are getting 'worn out'.

Lifestyle can effect the immune system adversely; like smoking, drugs, poor diet, etc.

Acute infections, Chronic diseases and treatment for those infections and diseases can weaken an immune system too.

[skooooo]

19. Sounds like there's just a range of things..

..that are kind of shoved into this category....

[EFerrari]

21. Stress. I was under much too much stress for a period of about a decade

and my immune system finally crashed. Never had any allergies or even childhood diseases. But the stress did it and all of a sudden, I was getting everything that came down the pike.

[REP]

30. Medically, it's chronic illnesses that affect the body's immune system

So, yes, AIDS and cancer, but also chronic inflammatory diseases (such as asthma, certain types of arthritis, IBD, etc) and diseases of major organs (heart, kidneys, liver, pancreas, etc) as well as other chronic disease fall under the compromised immune system label.

[Odin2005]

35. Low white blood cell count.

often caused by stress.

[Hannah Bell]

38. Immune response = the response of specialized cells & proteins to harmful bodies.

So weak immune response =

1) fewer of those cells/proteins
2) dysfunctional cells/proteins

The causes could be nutritional (e.g. lack of components needed to manufacture cells/proteins), disease (e.g. disruption of pathways in process), age (e.g. slowdown of cell manufacture)...even something as simple as too much/too little sleep, exercise, emotional stress (because hormone production affects metabolic immune paths...)

[bluedawg12]

39. Immune compromise.

This a great question.

Immune compromise or immune deficiency can arise from any condition that depresses the bodies response to infection.

There are numerous conditions that can alter an immune response. Generally the very young and very old have an altered immune response, as do patients receiving transplants, patients on chronic steroids, underlying chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis are among the many types of illnesses that can affect the immune system’s ability to respond to infections, which are generally in three broad categories: bacterial, viral and fungal. On edit: adding worms and other pathogens ex: malaria.

To give you an idea here is a list of some conditions(1)

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Acute myeloid leukemia
Adenosine deaminase deficiency
Alemtuzumab
Anakinra
Ataxia telangiectasia
Atypical mycobacteriosis, familial
Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1
Bloom's syndrome
Brequinar
C3 deficiency, hereditary
Cachexia
Centromeric instability of chromosomes 1,9 and 16 and immunodeficiency
Chediak-Higashi disease
Chronic granulomatous disease
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
Common variable hypogammaglobulinaemia
Complement levels low (serum or plasma)
Cyclical neutropenia
Diabetes mellitus type 1
Diabetes mellitus type 2
DiGeorge's syndrome
Efalizumab
Glucocorticoids, topical
Hairy cell leukaemia
Hepatic failure
HIV-1 disease
Hyperimmunoglobulin E (IgE) syndrome
Hypersplenism
Hyposplenism
Infliximab
Kostmann disease
Kwashiorkor
Leucocyte adhesion deficiency type 1
Major histocompatibility complex class I deficiency
Malabsorption syndrome
Marasmus
Methotrexate
Mizoribine
Mycophenolate mofetil
Myelodysplastic syndrome
Myeloma
Myeloperoxidase deficiency
Myotonic dystrophy
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Paraneoplastic syndrome
Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria
Pentostatin
Prednisolone
Recurrent hereditary polyserositis
Renal failure, acute
Renal failure, chronic
Sickle cell disease
Splenectomy
Starvation (acute)
Tacrolimus
Velocardiofacial syndrome
Visceral leishmaniasis
Vitamin H deficiency
Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome
X-linked hyperimmunoglobulin M syndrome
X-linked lymphoproliferative

(1) http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/symptoms/immune_deficiency/causes.htm