Research:Tysabri does not stop vaccines working

EpubVĂ„gberg M, Kumlin U, Svenningsson A. Humoral immune response to influenza vaccine in natalizumab-treated MS patients. Neurol Res. 2012.

OBJECTIVES: Natalizumab is a drug with documented efficacy in relapsing?remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The mechanism of action of natalizumab has immunosuppressive properties and it is not yet investigated if treatment with natalizumab affects the immunological response to vaccination. This study aims to investigate the humoral immune response to influenza vaccine while undergoing treatment with natalizumab.

METHODS: A cohort of 17 RRMS patients treated with natalizumab and 10 healthy controls received trivalent influenza A/B vaccine. Influenza-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels were determined at baseline and after 4, 8, and 12 weeks.

RESULTS: Both groups experienced a significant increase in anti-influenza B IgG after the vaccination. Both groups also experienced a smaller increase in anti-influenza A IgG, but this was only significant for the natalizumab group. The IgG titers compared between the groups did not differ significantly at any of the time points.

DISCUSSION: These results indicate that vaccination against influenza in patients treated with natalizumab yields a humoral immune response comparable to that achieved in healthy individuals.

Tysabri is an immunosuppressive drug, so does it stop all immune reactions from occuring, because if it did it would stop vaccinations from working. This study shows that tysabri does not stop (influenza) vaccine from working, which is good news. This perhaps no surprising as white blood cells do not use the same adhesion molecule that is used by white blood cells to get into the brain to get into lymph glands, which is the place where vaccinations geneterate immunity.

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