People who are treated with TNF-α inhibitors for their autoimmune disease such as Crohn’s disease or rheumatoid arthritis lose their vaccination protection significantly earlier than average. The mechanism underlying the early decrease in antibody levels has now been eludicated by a scientific team from MedUni Vienna. In view of the results, principal investigator Ursula Wiedermann-Schmidt emphasizes the importance of regular boosters for those affected. The research work has just been published in the specialist journal eBioMedicine.
The study was conducted by the Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology in cooperation with the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the University Department of Internal Medicine III. Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis and healthy controls were administered a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination and a booster after six months. Subsequent analyses showed that people receiving TNF-α blocker therapy had significantly lower antibody levels than healthy subjects and IBD patients receiving another form of treatment (α4β7-integrin antagonists).
TNF-α blockers are anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drugs from the group of biologics that are not only used for inflammatory bowel diseases, but also for other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis. According to the research team, the significantly faster loss of vaccine protection observed in the study is due to the fact that the strong inflammatory situation in these patients – despite