![\"Jenna](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Bartley-233x300.jpg\")
It\u2019s why UConn Health geriatrics researcher Jenna Bartley<\/a> is studying the effect of the diabetes drug metformin on the immune system.<\/p>\n \u201cI am exploring how altered metabolism contributes to poor immune responses in older adults, as well as exploring a potential therapeutic intervention to improve flu vaccine responses in this vulnerable population,\u201d Bartley says.<\/p>\n She is recruiting study participants who are at least 65 years old who have generally good kidney function and who don\u2019t have diabetes or prediabetes. The study will randomly place each participant in one of two groups: One group will receive metformin and the other will receive a placebo.<\/p>\n More information about Bartley’s study is available at starr.uchc.edu\/Study\/StudyDetails.aspx?ID=1127<\/a> or by contacting Lisa Pesce (860-679-2305, kenyon-pesce@uchc.edu<\/a>).<\/p>\n The idea is to see if metformin\u2019s effect on metabolism \u2013 how our body produces, maintains, and destroys a substance to yield energy \u2013 also influences T-cells.<\/p>\n T-cells are our immune system\u2019s foot soldiers, leading the attack against unwelcome intruders, such as a virus. Aging reduces our T-cell responses and in doing so, diminishes our immune response. Inoculation against a virus works because it rallies our T-cell army to identify the virus and fight it. But if fewer soldiers answer the call, they can\u2019t hold off the enemy for as long.<\/p>\n Our metabolism could hold the key to the decline in T-cell function. If we can alter our metabolism in a way that offsets aging\u2019s effect on T-cells, perhaps that army could become more responsive again. This would make the flu shot more protective in older adults than it generally is now.<\/p>\n \u201cSince methods to enhance vaccine efficacy in older adults are limited, this research could provide the groundwork to develop metabolic adjuvants to improve vaccine responses and reduce infectious disease related morbidity and mortality in this population,\u201d Bartley says.<\/p>\n Bartley, an assistant professor in the UConn Health Center on Aging and Department of Immunology, was one of eight postdoctoral fellows in the United States last year to receive an Irene Diamond Fund\/AFAR Postdoctoral Transition Award in Aging from the American Federation of Aging Research. The $120,000 grant is backing her study.<\/p>\n This concept, if proven effective, could lead to improved vaccine responses to other infectious diseases. And in that case, this \u201cvaccine-plus\u201d approach could turn into an effective enhancement in preventive medicine, particularly in geriatrics.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to note, even without the potential of an enhanced immune response to improve the influenza vaccine\u2019s success rate in older patients, the flu shot still gives them their best chance to reduce their risk of infection. The potential complications from influenza make flu shots even more important as we age \u2013 so much so that doctors often prefer a high-dose vaccine for their 65-plus patients.<\/p>\n The clinical trial <\/em>“Vaccination Efficacy with Metformin in Older Adults: A Pilot Study (VEME)”<\/a><\/em> is registered with the Institutional Review Board (IRB No. 19-205-2).<\/em><\/p>\n