Senior Citizens Should Avoid Common Pain Relievers
When Getting Their Flu Shot
A variety of pain relievers seem to dilute the
production of necessary antibodies to protect against illness
Nov. 3, 2009 - With flu vaccination season in full
swing and senior citizens lining up for shots, research from the
University of Rochester Medical Center cautions that the use of many
common pain killers Advil, Tylenol, aspirin at the time of injection
may blunt the effect of the shot and have a negative effect on the
immune system.
Richard P. Phipps, Ph.D.,
professor of Environmental Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology,
and of Pediatrics, has been studying this issue for years and recently
presented his latest findings to an international conference on
inflammatory diseases. (http://bioactivelipidsconf.wayne.edu/)
What weve been saying all along, and continue to
stress, is that its probably not a good idea to take common,
over-the-counter pain relievers for minor discomfort associated with
vaccination, Phipps said.
We have studied this question using virus
particles, live virus, and different kinds of pain relievers, in human
blood samples and in mice - and all of our research shows that pain
relievers interfere with the effect of the vaccine.
A
study by researchers in the Czech Republic reported similar findings
in the Oct. 17, 2009, edition of The Lancet. They found that giving
acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, to infants weakens the
immune response to vaccines.
Phipps research has tested whether production of
antibodies using a cell culture system was blunted by over-the-counter
pain relievers. He found that a variety of pain relievers even though
Tylenol and Advil have different ingredients -- seemed to dilute the
production of necessary antibodies to protect against illness.
Many of the pain relievers in question are
classified as
NSAIDs or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which act in part by
blocking the cyclooxygenase-2 (cox-2) enzyme. Blocking the cox-2 enzyme
is not a good idea in the context of vaccination, however, because the
cox-2 enzyme is necessary for the optimal production of B-lymphocytes.
Therefore, when a person takes a medication to
reduce pain and fever, he or she might also inadvertently reduce the
ability of B cells to make antibodies.
Phipps and colleagues also demonstrated that timing
of the administration of pain relievers is important as well,
according to the study published earlier this year in the journal
Cellular Immunology
They exposed human cells and mice to ibuprofen,
Tylenol, aspirin and naproxen (Aleve) in amounts comparable to doses
commonly used by millions of Americans every day to prevent or treat
pain and fever, or arthritis, or to prevent heart attack and stroke.
Treatment during the earliest stages of
inflammation or when the first signs of pain, swelling, redness or
fever would occur had the most detrimental effects on the immune
system, the study noted.
The connection between NSAIDs and antibody
production is still being actively pursued. Phipps said researchers
believe ibuprofen, in particular, affects lymphocytes ability to
produce antibodies.
Meanwhile, until a full clinical trial provides a
clearer picture, Phipps urges regular users of NSAIDs to be aware of the
risks.
NSAIDs are one of the most commonly used drugs;
they are recommended for all age categories, are prescribed for
relieving transient pain or in cases of serious inflammatory diseases,
Phipps said. By decreasing antibody synthesis, NSAIDs also have the
ability to weaken the immune system which can have serious consequences
for children, the elderly and the immune-compromised patients.
The U.S. Public Health Service has funded Phipps
studies.
URMC co-investigators on the study in Cellular
Immunology include: David Topham, Ph.D., an expert in the immune
response to influenza and a principal investigator in the
David H. Smith Center for Vaccine Biology and Immunology, and Simona
Bancos and Matthew P. Bernard, of the Department of Environmental
Medicine, Lung Biology and Disease Program.
