http://www.docguide.com/news/content.nsf/news/8525697700573E1885256C640029055D
Clinical Rheumatology
11/01/2002
By Andrew A. Skolnick
The influenza virus vaccination is clinically safe for patients with systemic
lupus, even though it may trigger the generation of autoantibodies in some
patients.
Mahmoud Abu-Shakra, MD, at the Soroka Medical Center, in Beer-Sheva, Israel, and
colleagues investigated the effects of the influenza vaccine on 24 women with
systemic lupus erythematosus.
Blood samples from each woman were withdrawn at the time of vaccination and at
six and 12 weeks after vaccination. The sera were then tested by enzyme-linked
immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) for anti-DNA, anticardiolipin, anti-Sm, anti-Sm/RNP,
anti-Ro and anti-La antibodies.
The vaccine was not associated with the generation of anti-DNA, the
investigators reported. At time of the vaccination a single patient had anti-Sm,
four patients had anti-Sm/RNP antibodies, none of the patients had anti-La
antibody and six had anti-Ro antibodies.
Six weeks after vaccination, four patients had antibodies reacting with Sm,
eight had antibodies reacting with Sm/RNP, nine had antibodies to Ro, and three
had autoantibodies to La.
Twelve weeks after vaccination none of the patients had anti-Sm, three had anti-Sm/RNP,
five had anti-Ro and two had anti-La antibodies. Following vaccination, six
patients developed IgG and three developed IgM anticardiolipin antibodies.
"In summary, although the influenza virus vaccine is clinically safe for
patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, it may trigger the generation of
autoantibodies," the researchers concluded. "This effect is usually short term
and has no clinical significance."
Clin Rheumatol 2002 Sep;21(5):369-72.
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