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Influenza Vaccinations for Daclizumab-treated Patients With MS

Are they effective?

Publish date:: February 16, 2016

Despite the mild immunosuppressive effects of daclizumab in vivo demonstrated by an increased incidence of infectious complications in clinical trials, patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) under daclizumab therapy mount normal antibody responses to influenza vaccinations. This according to a study of 23 daclizumab-treated patients with MS and 14 controls. Researchers found:

Daclizumab-treated patients and controls showed comparable, statistically significant expansions of previously defined subpopulations of activated CD8(+) T cells and B cells that characterize the development of effective immune responses to the influenza virus.

Proliferation of T cells to influenza and control antigens was diminished in the daclizumab cohort.

All participants fulfilled FDA criteria for seroconversion or seroprotection in antibody assays.

Citation: Lin YC, Winokur O, Blake A, et al. Patients with MS under daclizumab therapy mount normal immune responses to influenza vaccination. [Published online ahead of print January 27, 2016]. Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm. doi: 10.1212/NXI.0000000000000196.

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