New Hepatitis B Vaccine Shows Superior Protection in People with HIV
New Hepatitis B Vaccine Shows promise for People Living with HIV
A groundbreaking study offers hope for individuals living with HIV who struggle to develop immunity against hepatitis B thru traditional vaccination.
Led by Dr. Kristen Marks, an associate professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, the international research found a newer hepatitis B vaccine, HepB-CpG (Heplisav-B), significantly outperformed the older HepB-alum (Engerix-B) vaccine in inducing protective antibody responses.
“These results suggest a potential path forward for the large number of people living with HIV who can’t get protection from older hepatitis B vaccines,” said Dr.Marks.
Hepatitis B,a virus primarily spread through bodily fluids,can lead to chronic liver infection,cirrhosis,adn even liver cancer. The World Health Organization estimates over 250 million people globally live with chronic hepatitis B, resulting in over a million deaths annually.
In the U.S., 5% to 10% of people living with HIV are also infected with hepatitis B. Their weakened immune systems often struggle to fight the virus or respond effectively to traditional vaccines.
The study, published in JAMA, involved administering either HepB-CpG or HepB-alum to participants. Both vaccines utilize the same hepatitis B virus protein to trigger an immune response, but differ in their “adjuvants” – compounds that enhance the immune systemS response.
The FDA approved HepB-CpG in 2017. This new research suggests clinicians may now prefer it over alum-adjuvant vaccines for boosting immunity against hepatitis B in adults with HIV who lack sufficient antibody protection.
Previous studies have shown heplisav-B’s effectiveness in inducing protective antibody responses in individuals with diabetes and end-stage kidney disease, who also often respond poorly to traditional hepatitis B vaccines.
This latest analysis, which included three arms – HepB-CpG in three doses, HepB-alum in three doses, and HepB-CpG in its standard two-dose regimen – further solidified HepB-CpG’s superiority.
Both HepB-CpG arms demonstrated significantly higher rates of protective antibody responses compared to the HepB-alum group: 99.4% (three doses) and 93.1% (two doses) versus 80.6%, respectively. The trial did not reveal any new safety concerns.This research, partially funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, offers a promising new avenue for protecting a vulnerable population from the potentially devastating effects of hepatitis B.
New Hepatitis B Vaccine Shows Promise for People Living with HIV
new York,NY - A groundbreaking study published in JAMA offers renewed hope to individuals living with HIV who struggle to develop immunity against hepatitis B through traditional vaccination. Led by Dr. Kristen Marks, an associate professor of medicine at weill Cornell Medicine, the international research found that a newer hepatitis B vaccine, HepB-CpG (Heplisav-B), significantly outperformed the older HepB-alum (Engerix-B) vaccine in inducing protective antibody responses.
“These results suggest a potential path forward for the large number of people living with HIV who can’t get protection from older hepatitis B vaccines,” said Dr.Marks.
Hepatitis B, a virus primarily spread through bodily fluids, can lead to chronic liver infection, cirrhosis, and even liver cancer. The World Health Institution estimates that over 250 million people globally live with chronic hepatitis B, resulting in over a million deaths annually.
In the U.S., 5% to 10% of people living with HIV are also infected with hepatitis B. Their weakened immune systems frequently enough struggle to fight the virus or respond effectively to traditional vaccines.
The study involved administering either HepB-CpG or HepB-alum to participants. Both vaccines utilize the same hepatitis B virus protein to trigger an immune response but differ in their “adjuvants” – compounds that enhance the immune system’s response.
The FDA approved HepB-CpG in 2017. This new research suggests clinicians may now prefer it over alum-adjuvant vaccines for boosting immunity against hepatitis B in adults with HIV who lack sufficient antibody protection.
Previous studies have shown Heplisav-B’s effectiveness in inducing protective antibody responses in individuals with diabetes and end-stage kidney disease, who also often respond poorly to traditional hepatitis B vaccines.
This latest analysis, which included three arms – hepb-CpG in three doses, HepB-alum in three doses, and HepB-CpG in its standard two-dose regimen – further solidified HepB-cpg’s superiority.
Both HepB-CpG arms demonstrated significantly higher rates of protective antibody responses compared to the HepB-alum group: 99.4% (three doses) and 93.1% (two doses) versus 80.6%, respectively. The trial did not reveal any new safety concerns.
This research,partially funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,offers a promising new avenue for protecting a vulnerable population from the potentially devastating effects of hepatitis B.