Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Tuberculosis Vaccine May Help Prevent MS

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Tuberculosis Vaccine May Help Prevent MS

    People with early signs of multiple sclerosis who were treated with a vaccine used to prevent tuberculosis were less likely to get sick than patients who weren’t vaccinated, according to an early study.

    “The interesting thing was that the single injection affected the course of the recipients for up to five years after they received it,” Bourdette, the chairman of neurology at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, said in a telephone interview.

    More details:
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-1...sclerosis.html

    #2
    I have been weirdly affected today by this news... Reading it almost made me cry. I guess the fact that I've never had an incurable disease before, so news of a new possible treatment is huge news to me. Give me this shot!!!!
    No sir, I don't like it.
    Diagnosed August 30, 2013.

    Comment


      #3
      TB Vaccine

      I've read and re-read this article and don't know what to think! First of all, the TB Vaccine is a "live" virus, so this directly conflicts with the advice not to stay far away from the "live" flu vaccine (i.e. the nasal spray type) as it may activate symptoms.

      I also don't buy into the "hygiene" theory..

      However, I'm with JBW, let me at it if it works.

      Comment


        #4
        Interesting. I have my own BCG vaccine story, but it doesn't have to do with MS. (BCG is the name of the TB vaccination.)

        Our son had a BCG vaccination when he was 5 (we were living out of the country and it was required to start school.) Up until that point he had had horrific asthma since he was an infant. We were sometimes using multiple meds and a nebulizer to try to control it.

        The BCG, being a live virus, forms a sore on the arm which festers for weeks, and much like the small pox vaccine that many of us took years ago, you are left with a scar on your arm.

        Our pediatrician in the States was not pleased we had allowed him to have the vaccine because once you have it, you will probably test positive for TB on a skin test, but if we wanted him to start school, he needed that vaccine.

        Long story short, his asthma cleared up within months of receiving that vaccine, and he has remained asthma free into adulthood. Was it the vaccine...some studies showed that the vaccine helped with asthma, other studies did not reach that conclusion. All I know is that he had asthma up until that vaccine, and after the vaccine, his asthma cleared up. It's true we changed locations, and that might have had a bearing, but when we returned to our original location, the asthma stayed away.

        I'll be looking forward to hearing more info about this.
        Thanks for posting the link.

        Comment


          #5
          I had a ton of vaccines 41 years ago, wish I could remember what I had! Guess I'll call the college and ask. If it was available, I bet i had it. fed

          Comment


            #6
            Additional Information & References

            Infections may be harmful for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), resulting in fever, “pseudo-exacerbations,” and increased risk of relapses.
            1. Can infections ever be beneficial for MS? The long-held yet unproven “hygiene hypothesis” proposes that certain infections early in life might reduce the risk of developing autoimmune diseases by inducing protective immunity.
            2. In addition, parasitic intestinal infections in people with MS may reduce disease activity.
            3. It follows that better sanitation and common use of disinfectants and antibiotics may account in part for the increased prevalence of MS and other autoimmune diseases in North America and much of Europe, compared with Africa, South America, and parts of Asia. If true, might we harness this natural phenomenon to develop new treatments for MS?

            From Neurology Mag


            One of the first signs of MS is what's known as "clinically isolated syndrome." Symptoms include numbing and problems with vision, hearing and balance. About half of people who experience clinically isolated syndrome develop MS within two years, Ristori said.

            The study, published online Dec. 4 in the journal Neurology, included 73 people who'd had clinically isolated syndrome. Thirty-three received the tuberculosis vaccine and the remaining 40 were given a placebo, or dummy, injection. The tuberculosis vaccine is a live vaccine called the Bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine, which isn't widely used in the United States. The same vaccine also is being studied as a treatment for type 1 diabetes.

            The participants had monthly MRI scans of their brains for the first six months of the study to look for lesions associated with multiple sclerosis. For the next year, they received a drug (interferon beta-1a) given to people with MS. After that, they received the treatment recommended by their own neurologist. After five years, the participants were reexamined to see if they had developed MS.

            After the first six months, the researchers found an average of about eight brain lesions (a potential sign of MS) in people who received a placebo, compared to an average of three lesions in those who received the vaccine.

            After five years, 70 percent of those who received the placebo had developed MS, compared to 42 percent of those given the vaccine, the researchers said. No major side effects were reported during the study.


            It Works, But Doctors Don't Know Why
            While encouraging news, why the vaccine works is unclear. “There seems to be complex multiple effects on brain inflammation,” said study author Giovanni Ristori, M.D., Ph.D., of Sapienza University of Rome, in an interview with Healthline. “Other recent studies on BCG in autoimmunity point to a neuroprotective effect produced by cytokines [which help regulate immune response] that is especially induced by BCG.”

            Even used for its original purpose, this TB vaccine “is only effective in 50 to 60 percent of all cases,” said Ristori, but researchers were motivated to study it further when a pilot study in patients diagnosed with MS revealed that “BGC was safe and effective in reducing disease activity on MRI.”

            “The idea that MS is not a single disease is common among researchers,” said Ristori, and could explain why this TB vaccine was not 100 percent effective at preventing patients with CIS from developing MS.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Fed Up View Post
              I had a ton of vaccines 41 years ago, wish I could remember what I had! Guess I'll call the college and ask. If it was available, I bet i had it. fed
              Evidently, this vaccine has never been used routinely in two countries, the US and the Netherlands. Got that from the Wiki page Also read that it's used as a treatment for MS...but maybe that was added to the Wikipedia page after this study, or maybe it has been used in Europe for MS treatment, I have no idea.

              http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCG_vaccine

              The reason we (the US) don't like the vaccine is because then the skin test for tuberculosis becomes unreliable.

              Comment


                #8
                Interesting. Thanks for posting.

                Comment


                  #9
                  This is so interesting. Does it matter when the vaccine was given?

                  I am from the US but living temporarily in Indonesia where many people get TB. My first two kids do not have the vaccine because they don't vaccinate anyone over 2 here for it because supposedly it's not as effective after that. They just get a skin test every two years.

                  I got pregnant shorty after moving here and had my baby in Singapore. His pediatrician here and in the US both agreed he should get the vaccine. After reading this I feel like pushing to get the older ones vaccinated as well, especially the one with asthma.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by rdmc View Post
                    Evidently, this vaccine has never been used routinely in two countries, the US and the Netherlands. Got that from the Wiki page Also read that it's used as a treatment for MS...but maybe that was added to the Wikipedia page after this study, or maybe it has been used in Europe for MS treatment, I have no idea.

                    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCG_vaccine

                    The reason we (the US) don't like the vaccine is because then the skin test for tuberculosis becomes unreliable.
                    Thank YOU for clarifying this for me. I so appreciate all the info and links. fed

                    Comment


                      #11
                      MSwhileOverseas, there is probably not a solid answer to your question about vaccinating the older children, but your pediatrician in Indonesia is probably most familiar with the risks and benefits of BCG in older children, so I would consider that advice seriously. US physicians are not as familiar with TB and BCG any more, now that the disease is rare here.

                      It's true that having had the BCG vaccine will likely cause a positive skin test for TB later on, the common American approach to "managing" TB. But if evidence of being free of TB is required for work or school later in life, other tests can be done in those people who have had BCG.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        How Vaccines Workhttps://creazilla-store.fra1.digital...tor-medium.pngSource: https://creazilla.com/nodes/19975-ho...es-work-vector

                        Comment


                          #13
                          How Vaccines Work
                          https://creazilla-store.fra1.digital...tor-medium.png


                          Source: https://creazilla.com/nodes/20012-co...-vaccin-vector

                          Comment

                          Working...
                          X