Untreated Depression, Response To Shingles Vaccine In Seniors Linked
Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - 14:31
in Health & Medicine
Can individual's state of mind can effect how well a vaccine may work? Writing in Clinical Infectious Diseases, UCLA psychiatry professor Dr. Michael Irwin and colleagues say they have found a link between untreated depression in older adults and decreased effectiveness of the herpes zoster - shingles - vaccine. Shingles is a painful, blistering skin rash caused by the varicella–zoster virus, which also causes chickenpox. It may affect a million people over the age of 60 each year in the U.S and each year health officials urge individuals 50 and older to get vaccinated against the virus. The vaccine boosts cell-mediated immunity to the virus and can decrease the incidence and severity of the condition. read more