ADJUVANTS and DISEASE  (READ STUDY)

EXCERPTS

Adjuvants are compounds incorporated into vaccines to enhance immunogenicity and the development of these molecules has become an expanding field of research in the last decades. Adding an adjuvant to a vaccine antigen leads to several advantages, including dose sparing and the induction of a more rapid, broader and strong immune response. Several of thesemolecules have been approved, including aluminiumsalts, oil-in-water emulsions(MF59, AS03 and AF03), virosomes and AS04.

Adjuvants have recently been implicated in the new syndrome named “ASIA—Autoimmune/inflammatory Syndrome Induced by Adjuvants”, which describes an umbrella of clinical conditions including postvaccination adverse reactions.

Recent studies implicate aweb ofmechanisms in the development of vaccine adjuvant induced autoimmune diseases, in particular, in those associated with aluminium-based compounds.The idea that the adjuvant component of vaccines could enhance or trigger autoimmunity or autoimmne diseases represents an intriguing observation that may explain a number of adverse reactions observed after vaccination.