Poor Sleep Hampers Vaccine Effectiveness: Study

HealthDay – 1 min 39 secs ago WEDNESDAY, Aug. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Lack of sleep can reduce the effectiveness of vaccinations, according to a new study.

Researchers measured the sleep patterns of 125 adults who received the three-shot course of the vaccine to protect against hepatitis B. The immune systems of participants who slept less produced fewer antibodies in response to the vaccine and blood tests showed that they did not meet the standard of protection from the virus.

People who slept less than six hours per night were nearly 12 times more likely to be left unprotected by the vaccine than those who slept more than seven hours per night.

Only the amount of sleep, not the quality of sleep, affected the amount of antibodies produced in response to the vaccine.

"Given that more and more Americans are grappling with chronic sleep deprivation, these findings should be a wake-up call to the public health community about the clear connection between sleep and health," study author Aric Prather, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholar at the University of California, both at Berkeley and San Francisco, said in a foundation news release.

The study, published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Sleep, is the first outside a sleep laboratory to confirm that the amount of sleep people get affects how they respond to vaccinations, according to Prather.

"Based on our findings and laboratory evidence, physicians and other health professionals who are administering vaccines may want to consider asking their patients about their sleep patterns first, since a lack of sleep may affect the efficacy of the vaccine," Prather said.

Adults should get seven to nine hours of sleep per night, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

While the study found an association between sleep and vaccine effectiveness, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about adults and vaccinations.

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World's first dengue vaccine beats three virus strains

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Progress reported with candidate dengue vaccine

"An employee works on a vaccine assembly line of Sanofi-Pasteur, outside Lyon in February 2012. Trials in Thailand with a candidate vaccine for dengue, a potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease, have shown it to protect against three of the four virus strains, its French maker said. (AFP Photo/Philippe Desmazes)" title

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Scientists see AIDS vaccine within reach after decades

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HPV Vaccine Protects Even Those Who Skip It

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A Vaccine Protects Those Who Skip It

Other experts in infectious diseases agreed that the study demonstrates how important it is to get vaccinated.

"I think it is important to point out to potential vaccine recipients that herd immunity is routinely achieved when greater than 80 percent of the population has been vaccinated," said Robert Rose, professor emeritus of infectious diseases at the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y. "Thus, it is incumbent upon immune-competent individuals to participate in the vaccine effort in order to protect those who are in one way or another immune-compromised."

HPV is responsible for the most common sexually transmitted infections. There are more than 100 types of HPV, including more than 40 high-risk types of infection that are responsible for causing approximately 70 percent of cervical cancers, genital warts, vaginal and anal cancers and a growing number of head and neck cancers, especially in men.

Since these viruses have the ability to cause such widespread disease, current recommendations from the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices include vaccination against HPV for both males and females ages 9 to 26.

"Substantially decreasing the incidence of this disease by using a preventive vaccine is so exciting, especially when approximately 20 percent of human cancers are caused by an infection," said Dr. Connie Trimble, an OB/Gyn and HPV researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.

Despite the growing body of research supporting HPV vaccination, however, HPV vaccination rates among young people remain low. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rates were only around 49 percent for the first out of three required doses. Additionally, while the current HPV vaccine shows effectiveness in reducing the prevalence of the four most high-risk types of infection in Kahn's study, other types of HPV remain prevalent.

Dr. James Turner, member of the Vaccine Preventable Disease Committee at the University of Virginia, said there remains a need to continue to improve and change the vaccine in a way that acts against the types of the virus that remain prevalent in the community.

"I believe manufacturers are in Phase II studies of developing new vaccines that cover up to nine

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HPV Vaccine Reducing Infections, Even Among Unvaccinated: Study

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Experimental Vaccine Seems to Stop Nicotine Addiction in Mice

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CDC recommends expanded use of Pfizer vaccine

Reuters – Wed, Jun 20, 2012 (Reuters) - An advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted on Wednesday to recommended expanded use of Pfizer Inc's Prevnar 13 vaccine to include adults 19 and older with compromised immune systems due to conditions such as HIV infection, cancer and advanced kidney disease.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)favored the expanded use by a vote of 14-0 with one abstention, the CDC said.

Prevnar 13, one of Pfizer's most important products, prevents pneumococcal pneumonia or invasive disease. Wall Street analysts, on average, have forecast Prevnar 13 sales will reach $6.75 billion by 2016. The company reported sales of $941 million in the first quarter.

"While we view this (recommendation) as an incremental positive, we think the Street expected a positive outcome," ISI Group analyst Mark Schoenebaum said in a research note.

Pfizer shares were off 9 cents at $22.62 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Prevnar 13 was initially approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2010 for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease caused by the 13 serotypes included in the vaccine in infants and children from 6 weeks through 5 years old.

The FDA in December approved Prevnar 13 for adults age 50 and older. ACIP has not yet recommended the vaccine for that patient population.

"We are committed to continuing discussions with the ACIP with the aim of expanding the recommendations to include all adults 50 years of age and older - a population rapidly increasing in the United States and at risk for developing vaccine-type pneumococcal pneumonia and invasive disease," Pfizer said in a statement.

Pfizer is expecting data next year from a Prevnar 13 trial of more than 84,000 subjects 65 and older to determine if the vaccine is effective in preventing the first episode of community-acquired pneumonia caused by the 13 pneumococcal serotypes in the vaccine.

ACIP is likely awaiting results from that trial, called CAPITA, before making a recommendation for the vaccine's use in older adults.

"The key event for Prevnar 13 remains the data readout in 2013 from the CAPITA adult outcomes study," Schoenebaum said.

The vaccine is not approved for those between the ages of 6 and 49.

(Reporting By Bill Berkrot; editing by Maureen Bavdek and Andre Grenon)

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Brazil claims successful test of parasite vaccine

"Photo illustration. Brazilian researchers say they have successfully tested a vaccine against schistosomiasis, a disease caused by parasitic worms that afflicts more than 200 million people worldwide. (AFP Photo/Saul Loeb)" title

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GenVec's cattle vaccine gets conditional approval, shares up

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Shingles Vaccine Safe, Underutilized, Study Says

HealthDay – 1 hr 24 mins ago MONDAY, April 23 (HealthDay News) -- The shingles vaccine is generally safe and well tolerated by patients, according to a new study.

Shingles, which affects more than 1 million people each year in the United States, is a painful contagious rash caused by the dormant chickenpox virus, which can reactivate and replicate, damaging the nervous system.

Elderly people are especially at risk because immunity against the virus that causes shingles declines with age.

In this study, researchers looked at data from more than 193,000 adults 50 and older who received the shingles vaccine, also known as the herpes zoster vaccine, over two years. There was a small increased risk of local reactions (redness and pain) from one to seven days after vaccination. This finding matches the results of clinical trials.

The shingles vaccine did not increase the risk for cerebrovascular diseases; cardiovascular diseases; meningitis, encephalitis, and encephalopathy; Ramsay-Hunt syndrome; or Bell's palsy, the researchers said.

The study was published online April 23 in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

The study supports the vaccination recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices "and reassures the general public that the vaccine is safe," study author Hung Fu Tseng, a research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente in Pasadena, Calif., said in a Kaiser news release.

Few people received the vaccine, which was licensed in 2006, the news release said. The CDC recommends it for healthy people aged 60 and older.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about shingles.

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Combined vaccine not tied to seizures in older kids

Reuters – 1 hr 16 mins ago NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although the combined vaccine against measles, mumps and chickenpox comes with a small risk of fever-related seizures in toddlers, a new study suggests that's not true in older children.

The measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine has been available in the U.S. since 2005. It combines the traditional MMR vaccine with the anti-chickenpox shot so young children can undergo fewer jabs.

But after its release, the MMRV vaccine was found to carry a small risk of fever-related seizures in one- to two-year-olds -- the age at which the first dose of the vaccine is given.

Fever-related, or "febrile," seizures are short-lived, lasting about a minute or two.

Though the seizures are "very scary" for parents, "they are not dangerous, and they do not lead to later epilepsy or seizure disorders," lead researcher Dr. Nicola Klein, co-director of the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center in Oakland, California, told Reuters Health in an email.

Experts now recommend that parents opt for either the MMRV or separate MMR and varicella shots for their toddlers. The separate shots seem to cut the odds of a fever-related seizure.

But that has still left questions about the second MMRV vaccine, which is given between the ages of four and six.

In the new study, researchers found no evidence that the vaccine significantly raised the risk of fever-related seizures in those older children.

The findings, reported in the journal Pediatrics, are based on medical records for nearly 87,000 four- to six-year-olds who received the MMRV shot between 2006 and 2008. Another 67,000-plus received the MMR and varicella vaccines separately, on the same day, between 2000 and 2008.

One child had a fever-related seizure seven to 10 days after getting the MMRV vaccine -- the time frame in which one- to two-year-olds appear to be at risk. No seizures were recorded in kids who had the MMR and varicella shots separately.

The findings suggest the vaccine carries no particular risk of the seizures in older kids. Fever-related seizures are fairly common in children; according to the National Institutes of Health, about one in every 25 kids will have at least one fever-related seizure -- though they most often affect toddlers.

So it's not surprising that the MMRV shot has been linked to seizures in toddlers, but not in older kids, according to Klein's team.

Even in toddlers, the risk is small, said Klein.

"It is more common for a child to have a febrile seizure caused by a cold than by an immunization," she said.

In a 2010 study, Klein's team found that compared with one- to two-year-olds who got separate MMR and varicella jabs, those given the combined vaccine had twice the rate of fever-related seizures seven to 10 days later.

That translated to one additional seizure for every 2,300 doses of the MMRV shot given to one-year-olds instead of the separate vaccines.

Klein said that parents should talk with their pediatrician about the pros and cons of the MMRV vaccine versus giving toddlers the MMR and varicella vaccines separately.

The vaccine is not the only one that's associated with fever-related seizures in very young children. A recent study found a small risk among babies getting the combined vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis), polio and Haemophilus influenzae type 2 -- known collectively as DTap-IPV-Hib (see Reuters Health story of February 21, 2012).

But again, experts stressed that the risk was "very small" and the vaccine was not linked to future seizure disorders.

Klein and some of her co-researchers on the study have received past research funding from vaccine makers, including Merck, which makes the ProQuad MMRV vaccine.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/HzT6vz Pediatrics, online April 2, 2012.

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Antibody clues to AIDS vaccine success

"A researcher at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative laboratory works on samples at the lab in 2010 in New York. The success of an AIDS vaccine trial that in 2009 was shown to protect 31 percent of people studied may have been due to varying levels of antibody responses in the patients, researchers said Thursday. (AFP Photo/Chris Hondros)" title

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From a Failed Vaccine, New Insights Into Fighting HIV

HealthDay – 2 hrs 26 mins ago WEDNESDAY, April 4 (HealthDay News) -- A new study offers insight into why an HIV vaccine failed to protect most people who received it, but it also points to promising new targets for future vaccine efforts.

Scientists believe an HIV vaccine, designed to prevent infection with the virus that causes AIDS, is still several years away. Tests of experimental vaccines have largely been failures so far.

Nevertheless, the prospect of a vaccine remains tantalizing because it could make a major dent in the spread of HIV and AIDS around the world.

The new research "gives us a handle on how the immune system deals with the virus and is affected by a vaccine," said study lead author Dr. Barton Haynes, director at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute at Duke University in Durham, N.C. "It gives us clues and a firm direction to look into."

The study is based on work by more than 100 scientists from 25 institutions, and appears in the April 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Haynes and his colleagues examined the results of a 2009 study of an HIV vaccine in Thailand. In a trial involving more than 16,000 people, the vaccine appeared to cut the risk of infection by only 31 percent. That was still considered a major advance over previous vaccines that didn't work at all, Haynes noted.

The vaccine, called RV144, wasn't ready for prime time because it didn't protect enough people, Haynes said. "You want to get it above 50 percent," he said, and some scientists believe the rate should be even higher than that.

Despite the vaccine's failure, the authors of the new study were able to use the data to learn more about how the immune system deals with HIV and how the vaccine changes the "big picture" of the body's response to the virus.

The new research is an "exhaustive molecular analysis," said Dr. Lindsey Baden, an associate professor of medicine in the infectious disease division at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who co-wrote a commentary accompanying the study.

Haynes said one surprising finding is about an antibody -- a soldier of the immune system -- that helps protect against influenza infection. Ironically, the antibody appears to boost the likelihood of HIV infection, he said.

Another finding was that higher levels of antibodies that home in on a particular region of HIV's outer shell, called V1V2, were associated with lower rates of infection with the virus.

This and other information in the study may help researchers come up with theories about where to go next with vaccine development, Baden said. Among other things, it can reveal parts of the immune system that can be most useful in battling the transmission of HIV.

Vaccines are available to fight other kinds of viruses, such as measles and influenza. HIV is unique, however, because it inserts its genetic material into the body's cells.

"When a person gets infected with HIV, that genetic material goes underground," Haynes said. "It's invisible to the body's immune system."

Another challenge is that the virus mutates, becoming a moving target.

"It changes so rapidly in the person who gets infected that even when the immune system does try to control it, in most people the immune system is always playing catch up," Haynes said.

More information

There's more on HIV/AIDS at the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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From a Failed Vaccine, New Insights Into Fighting HIV

HealthDay – 2 hrs 26 mins ago WEDNESDAY, April 4 (HealthDay News) -- A new study offers insight into why an HIV vaccine failed to protect most people who received it, but it also points to promising new targets for future vaccine efforts.

Scientists believe an HIV vaccine, designed to prevent infection with the virus that causes AIDS, is still several years away. Tests of experimental vaccines have largely been failures so far.

Nevertheless, the prospect of a vaccine remains tantalizing because it could make a major dent in the spread of HIV and AIDS around the world.

The new research "gives us a handle on how the immune system deals with the virus and is affected by a vaccine," said study lead author Dr. Barton Haynes, director at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute at Duke University in Durham, N.C. "It gives us clues and a firm direction to look into."

The study is based on work by more than 100 scientists from 25 institutions, and appears in the April 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Haynes and his colleagues examined the results of a 2009 study of an HIV vaccine in Thailand. In a trial involving more than 16,000 people, the vaccine appeared to cut the risk of infection by only 31 percent. That was still considered a major advance over previous vaccines that didn't work at all, Haynes noted.

The vaccine, called RV144, wasn't ready for prime time because it didn't protect enough people, Haynes said. "You want to get it above 50 percent," he said, and some scientists believe the rate should be even higher than that.

Despite the vaccine's failure, the authors of the new study were able to use the data to learn more about how the immune system deals with HIV and how the vaccine changes the "big picture" of the body's response to the virus.

The new research is an "exhaustive molecular analysis," said Dr. Lindsey Baden, an associate professor of medicine in the infectious disease division at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who co-wrote a commentary accompanying the study.

Haynes said one surprising finding is about an antibody -- a soldier of the immune system -- that helps protect against influenza infection. Ironically, the antibody appears to boost the likelihood of HIV infection, he said.

Another finding was that higher levels of antibodies that home in on a particular region of HIV's outer shell, called V1V2, were associated with lower rates of infection with the virus.

This and other information in the study may help researchers come up with theories about where to go next with vaccine development, Baden said. Among other things, it can reveal parts of the immune system that can be most useful in battling the transmission of HIV.

Vaccines are available to fight other kinds of viruses, such as measles and influenza. HIV is unique, however, because it inserts its genetic material into the body's cells.

"When a person gets infected with HIV, that genetic material goes underground," Haynes said. "It's invisible to the body's immune system."

Another challenge is that the virus mutates, becoming a moving target.

"It changes so rapidly in the person who gets infected that even when the immune system does try to control it, in most people the immune system is always playing catch up," Haynes said.

More information

There's more on HIV/AIDS at the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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Early Study Hints That Breast Cancer Vaccine Might Work

HealthDay – 1 hr 44 mins ago MONDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) -- A vaccine to prevent breast cancer's return in women with a history of the disease has triggered the desired immune response in early research.

The vaccine under development is aimed at preventing recurrence in women who have a form of tumor known as HER2-positive, according to researcher Dr. Diane Hale, a research resident in general surgery at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio.

She is set to present results of the study on Monday at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Chicago.

The vaccine, known as the "HER2-based peptide vaccine AE37," is designed to harness the power of the patient's immune system, based on its reaction to a cancer-linked peptide (protein).

"The theory is that once you form that

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HPV Vaccine May Prevent Recurrence of Precancerous Conditions

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HPV Vaccine May Help Women With Cervical Conditions

HealthDay – 39 mins ago TUESDAY, March 27 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finds that women diagnosed with pre-cancerous cervical conditions after they get the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine can still benefit from the shot because it cuts their risk of future HPV-related cervical disease.

"This study helps to clarify the effects of the HPV vaccine and further define its use," noted one expert, Dr. Elizabeth Poynor, a gynecologic oncologist and pelvic surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Poynor, who was not involved in the new research, said it "is the first to address the effect of the HPV vaccine in women who have undergone treatment for HPV-related disease."

The study was published online March 27 in the BMJ.

HPV remains the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and can cause health problems ranging from genital warts to cervical cancer, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HPV infection is thought to be the leading cause of cervical cancer, and two HPV vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.

Previous research has shown that HPV vaccination does not prevent progression to cervical pre-cancers in women who have an HPV infection when they receive the vaccine.

However, this is the first study to examine if HPV vaccination can prevent future cervical disease in these women after they've been successfully treated for their current condition, the researchers pointed out in a journal news release.

The study involved an international team of researchers led by Dr. Elmar Joura of the Medical University of Vienna. The investigators analyzed data from 1,350 young women in 24 developed and developing countries who took part in two clinical trials in which they received either the HPV vaccine or an inactive placebo. The women were subsequently diagnosed with either a vulvar or vaginal disease (including genital warts) or had required cervical surgery.

Among women who required cervical surgery after taking part in the studies, the risk of getting a subsequent HPV-related disease was 6.6 cases per 100 women per year among those who received the HPV vaccine and 12.2 cases per 100 women per year among those who received the placebo. This translates into more than a 46 percent reduced risk for women who received the HPV vaccine, the authors noted.

The researchers also found that the risk of pre-cancerous changes of the cervix and other "high-grade" cervical disease was almost 65 percent lower in those who received the HPV vaccination than in those who received the placebo.

Among women who were diagnosed with and treated for vaginal or vulvar disease, the risk of any future HPV-related disease was about 35 percent lower among those who received the HPV vaccine than among those who received the placebo, the study authors reported.

Two other experts said the findings appear heartening.

"While questions remain on the design of the study, it offers another reassurance that the efficacy of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine as initial protection may extend to decreasing subsequent diseases after initial vaccination," said Dr. Linus Chuang, director of gynecologic oncology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

And Dr. Stephanie Blank, director of the gynecologic oncology fellowship at NYU School of Medicine, agreed that the study "describes potential further benefits of the HPV vaccine. HPV causes cervical cancer but affects even more women by causing cervical dysplasia

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HPV Vaccine May Help Women With Cervical Conditions

HealthDay – 39 mins ago TUESDAY, March 27 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finds that women diagnosed with pre-cancerous cervical conditions after they get the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine can still benefit from the shot because it cuts their risk of future HPV-related cervical disease.

"This study helps to clarify the effects of the HPV vaccine and further define its use," noted one expert, Dr. Elizabeth Poynor, a gynecologic oncologist and pelvic surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Poynor, who was not involved in the new research, said it "is the first to address the effect of the HPV vaccine in women who have undergone treatment for HPV-related disease."

The study was published online March 27 in the BMJ.

HPV remains the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and can cause health problems ranging from genital warts to cervical cancer, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HPV infection is thought to be the leading cause of cervical cancer, and two HPV vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.

Previous research has shown that HPV vaccination does not prevent progression to cervical pre-cancers in women who have an HPV infection when they receive the vaccine.

However, this is the first study to examine if HPV vaccination can prevent future cervical disease in these women after they've been successfully treated for their current condition, the researchers pointed out in a journal news release.

The study involved an international team of researchers led by Dr. Elmar Joura of the Medical University of Vienna. The investigators analyzed data from 1,350 young women in 24 developed and developing countries who took part in two clinical trials in which they received either the HPV vaccine or an inactive placebo. The women were subsequently diagnosed with either a vulvar or vaginal disease (including genital warts) or had required cervical surgery.

Among women who required cervical surgery after taking part in the studies, the risk of getting a subsequent HPV-related disease was 6.6 cases per 100 women per year among those who received the HPV vaccine and 12.2 cases per 100 women per year among those who received the placebo. This translates into more than a 46 percent reduced risk for women who received the HPV vaccine, the authors noted.

The researchers also found that the risk of pre-cancerous changes of the cervix and other "high-grade" cervical disease was almost 65 percent lower in those who received the HPV vaccination than in those who received the placebo.

Among women who were diagnosed with and treated for vaginal or vulvar disease, the risk of any future HPV-related disease was about 35 percent lower among those who received the HPV vaccine than among those who received the placebo, the study authors reported.

Two other experts said the findings appear heartening.

"While questions remain on the design of the study, it offers another reassurance that the efficacy of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine as initial protection may extend to decreasing subsequent diseases after initial vaccination," said Dr. Linus Chuang, director of gynecologic oncology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

And Dr. Stephanie Blank, director of the gynecologic oncology fellowship at NYU School of Medicine, agreed that the study "describes potential further benefits of the HPV vaccine. HPV causes cervical cancer but affects even more women by causing cervical dysplasia

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