Background Senior individuals are particularly vulnerable to influenza. Research suggests that protection against the virus and its transmission in this high-risk group of the population can be achieved by active immunization against the pathogen. Aims To explore and analyze the attitudes, knowledge and behavior of people over the age of 60 on influenza vaccination. Population and methods This cross-sectional survey included people over the age of 60 who were eligible candidates for the influenza vaccine from 3 regions from Northern and 1 region from Southern Greece. A self-completed questionnaire based upon the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the Motivation for Vaccination (MoVac-flu) and the Vaccination Advocacy Scale (MovAd) was administered to the participants. Demographic characteristics and information about health status were also obtained. Results The final sample included 318 participants with mean age of 70.7 years. More than half of the participants (56.6%) had received a flu vaccine in 2018 while 50.8% received it annually in previous years. Behavioral (p < 0.001), normative (p < 0.001), and control beliefs (p < 0.001), promoted the uptake of the vaccine and the increased intention score (p < 0.001) was associated with increased probability of vaccination. Greater age (p = 0.001) and frequent visits to the doctors (p = 0.003) had a positive influence upon the uptake of the vaccine. Conclusions Only a small proportion of those over the age of 60 had received the influenza vaccine. This finding is worrying, as it indicates the impact that a future outbreak of seasonal influenza could exert upon vulnerable groups. There is an urgent need for further, better and more evidence-based information from healthcare professionals to achieve greater vaccination coverage in the community.
BackgroundIncreased prevalence of depression has been observed among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and correlated with the elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines and the overall deregulation of monoaminergic neurotransmitters that these patients exhibit. Antidepressants have proved effective not only in treating depression comorbid to MS, but also in alleviating numerous MS symptoms and even minimizing stress-related relapses. Therefore, these agents could prospectively prove beneficial as a complementary MS therapy.ObjectiveThis review aims at illustrating the underlying mechanisms involved in the beneficial clinical effects of antidepressants observed in MS patients.MethodsThrough a literature search we screened and comparatively assessed papers on the effects of antidepressant use both in vitro and in vivo MS models, taking into account a number of inclusion and exclusion criteria.ResultsIn vitro studies indicated that antidepressants promote neural and glial cell viability and differentiation, reduce proinflammatory cytokines and exert neuroprotective activity by eliminating axonal loss. In vivo studies confirmed that antidepressants delayed disease onset and alleviated symptoms in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE), the most prevalent animal model of MS. Further, antidepressant agents suppressed inflammation and restrained demyelination by decreasing immune cell infiltration of the CNS.ConclusionAntidepressants were efficient in tackling numerous aspects of disease pathophysiology both in vitro and in vivo models. Given that several antidepressants have already proved effective in clinical trials on MS patients, the inclusion of such agents in the therapeutic arsenal of MS should be seriously considered, following an individualized approach to minimize the adverse events of antidepressants in MS patients.
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