tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Flu jabs can be made more effective by changing the time of day they are given - mornings for men and afternoons for women are best - scientists believe.
Synchronising the jab with the body's natural daily cyclical rhythm makes it more likely to offer good immunity, says the University of Birmingham team.
The immune system gets sluggish as we age which explains why only a third of elderly people vaccinated get full protection from their winter flu vaccine.
Rescheduling appointments may help.
To test their theory, the researchers are using GP patients in Birmingham as guinea pigs.
Three hundred of them will be given morning or afternoon vaccination appointments, determined by their gender.
Continue reading the main story
?Start Quote
We know that immunity goes down with ageing. But this work may have found a way to counter that?
Professor Janet Lord University of Birmingham
Dr Anna Phillips, who is leading the research, said: "The biggest effect we found was that men had a much stronger antibody response when they had the flu jab in the morning, meaning they would be better protected against flu
..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15244432
Synchronising the jab with the body's natural daily cyclical rhythm makes it more likely to offer good immunity, says the University of Birmingham team.
The immune system gets sluggish as we age which explains why only a third of elderly people vaccinated get full protection from their winter flu vaccine.
Rescheduling appointments may help.
To test their theory, the researchers are using GP patients in Birmingham as guinea pigs.
Three hundred of them will be given morning or afternoon vaccination appointments, determined by their gender.
Continue reading the main story
?Start Quote
We know that immunity goes down with ageing. But this work may have found a way to counter that?
Professor Janet Lord University of Birmingham
Dr Anna Phillips, who is leading the research, said: "The biggest effect we found was that men had a much stronger antibody response when they had the flu jab in the morning, meaning they would be better protected against flu
..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15244432