Varicella vaccine may offer protection to adults.(Brief Article)

2002 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Stanford researchers have found that a childhood vaccine given in adulthood can reduce the risk of shingles, an excruciatingly painful disease that strikes the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

Researchers studied the effects of an inactivated form of the chickenpox vaccine in cancer patients who were especially likely to develop shingles (also called zoster). It appears possible that the vaccination can prevent healthy elderly people from developing the disease and that other vaccines might be a good way to protect transplant recipients against viruses and bacteria.

"We knew that these patients were at very high risk for zoster," said Ann Arvin, chief of pediatric infectious disease at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. "We thought we could try to benefit those with impaired immune systems, and also demonstrate that vaccination could help protect others who are at risk for shingles."

Arvin, a professor of microbiology and immunology, is the senior author of the study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Karl Blume, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the division of bone marrow transplantation at Stanford University Medical Center is a coinvestigator.

Shingles is triggered by the same virus that causes chicken pox. While most people recover from chicken pox without incident, the virus then bides its time in nerve cells - a nefarious stowaway, waiting decades for a chance to strike again. When the immune system is weakened by age or disease, the virus springs to life, spurring an itchy, burning rash and a legacy of shooting pain that can last for years.

"It's a very disruptive kind of pain," said Arvin. "The skin becomes so sensitive that it can be difficult to sleep and even the lightest clothing or faint breeze becomes painful." Arvin estimated that even for healthy adults the risk of shingles rises each decade after age 60, increasing to one in five for people in their 80s.

Researchers tested the effect of an ...