Journal Article

A Vaccine to Prevent Herpes Zoster and Postherpetic Neuralgia in Older Adults

Straus, S.E, Neuzil, K.M, Betts, R.F, Chan, I.S.F, Greenberg, R.N, Kauffman, C.A, Silber, J.L, Soto, N.E, Schmader, K.E, Loutit, J, Annunziato, P.W, Gelb, L.D, Crawford, G.E, Marques, A.R, Harbecke, R, Guatelli, J.C, Chan, C.Y, Brooks, P.A, Keay, S.K, Wright, P.F, Boardman, K.D, Morrison, V.A, Gnann, J.W, Simberkoff, M.S, Toney, J.F, Johnson, G.R, Kyriakides, T.C, Arbeit, R.D, Keller, P.M, Wang, W.W.B, Gershon, A.A, Goodman, R.P, Davis, L.E, Zhang, J. Hongyuan, Pachucki, C.T, Weinberg, A, Yeh, S.-S, Keitel, W.A, Brunell, P, Irwin, M.R, Cotton, D.J, Oxman, M.N, Levin, M.J, Hayward, A.R, Griffin, M.R, Lobo, Z, Beisel, C.E, Holodniy, M, Peduzzi, P.N, Williams, H.M

2005

Overview

Herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia occur more often with increasing age. In this controlled trial among 38,546 adults 60 years of age or older, vaccination with a live attenuated varicella–zoster vaccine reduced the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia by 66.5 percent (as compared with placebo) and the incidence of herpes zoster by 51.3 percent. In adults 60 years of age or older, vaccination with a live attenuated varicella–zoster vaccine reduced the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia by 66.5 percent (as compared with placebo) and the incidence of herpes zoster by 51.3 percent. Herpes zoster, or shingles, is characterized by unilateral radicular pain and a vesicular rash that is generally limited to a single dermatome. 1 , 2 Herpes zoster results from reactivation of latent varicella–zoster virus (VZV) within the sensory ganglia. 3 , 4 The incidence and severity of herpes zoster increase with advancing age; more than half of all persons in whom herpes zoster develops are older than 60 years. Complications occur in almost 50 percent of older persons with herpes zoster. 3 – 5 The most frequent debilitating complication is postherpetic neuralgia, a neuropathic pain syndrome that persists or develops after the dermatomal rash has healed. . . .

• Publisher: Massachusetts Medical Society
• Subject: Aged / Biological and medical sciences / Chickenpox Vaccine - adverse effects / Chickenpox Vaccine - immunology / Cost of Illness / Double-Blind Method / Female / Follow-Up Studies / General aspects / Herpes viruses / Herpes Zoster - complications / Herpes Zoster - epidemiology / Herpes Zoster - prevention & control / Herpesvirus 3, Human - immunology / Human viral diseases / Humans / Immunization / Immunologic Memory / Incidence / Infectious diseases / Male / Medical sciences / Middle Aged / Nervous system / Neuralgia - prevention & control / Neuralgia - virology / Older people / Pain / Vaccines / Vaccines, Attenuated - adverse effects / Vaccines, Attenuated - immunology / Varicella-zoster virus / Viral diseases / Viral diseases with cutaneous or mucosal lesions and viral diseases of the eye / Virus Activation