vaccines

An international team of scientists, led by Stanford University (United States), has designed a study to analyse the relationship between herpes zoster virus infections and the development of dementia. To do so, they took advantage of the introduction of the Zostavax vaccine against this virus in 2013 in Wales (UK), which people over the age of 80 could not receive. After reviewing data from people around this age over the following seven years, they concluded that the vaccine reduced the relative risk of dementia by 20%. According to the authors, their study, which is in prepublication form and has not been peer-reviewed, "leads to the conclusion that shingles vaccination is most likely an effective way to prevent or delay the onset of dementia".

A journal article published in the BMJ discusses the potential adverse effects associated with GSK and Pfizer's RSV vaccines in the face of a possible increase in preterm births and argues for further study of the risks and benefits of the drug.

A phase 1 clinical trial has tested personalised mRNA vaccines against the most common type of pancreatic cancer with a particularly poor prognosis. The treatment, which is tailored to the characteristics of each patient's tumour, was given to 16 people along with surgery, chemotherapy and other immunotherapy. Half of them showed an immune response to the vaccine, which was associated with a better prognosis. The results are published in the journal Nature.

A study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine shows the results of a phase 1 trial of a new broad-spectrum influenza vaccine. Prepared in the form of nanoparticles containing the H1 hemagglutinin stem-a region that is often conserved in different subtypes of the virus-the vaccine was generally well tolerated by participants, who showed only mild side effects such as tenderness and headaches. The prototype generated an antibody response to group 1 influenza viruses in all age groups.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has licensed Hipra's vaccine - currently called Bimervax - against SARS-CoV-2 as a booster in people aged 16 years and older who have previously been vaccinated with mRNA vaccines. The EMA began the ongoing evaluation of the vaccine, which was expected to be approved in the middle of last year, on 29 March 2022.

News of cancer vaccines proliferate in the media, yet only one such vaccine has been approved - against metastatic prostate cancer - and is no longer in use. However, only one as such has been approved - against metastatic prostate cancer - and it is no longer in use. Are the attention and hopes justified? What do they consist of and how are they similar to traditional ones? Are they preventive or therapeutic? Can they be universal or will they be extremely personalised? How much will they cost? This is what we know today.

Researchers have analysed the efficacy of the meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (4CMenB, Bexsero) in more than 1,500 children under five years of age in Spain. The research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that full vaccination was effective in preventing invasive meningococcal disease of both serogroup B and other serogroups in this child population. The vaccine, which had been sold privately in Spain since 2015, had already been included by several autonomous communities in their vaccination schedules. Last December, the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System (CISNS) approved its inclusion in the vaccination schedule for the whole of Spain.

The US companies Moderna and Merck (MSD outside the US and Canada) have announced this week the results of their phase 2b trials of their skin cancer therapy. The results were shared in a press release stating that the risk of recurrence or death is reduced by 44%.

An experimental malaria vaccine has shown protection for at least six months, according to a clinical trial in 112 adults in Burkina Faso. The results are published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

A study published in the journal Science reports preclinical results of a new vaccine model that is intended to work against all types of influenza. The prototype, which uses mRNA-based technology, includes antigens from all 20 known influenza subtypes.