Shingles in Patients with Autoimmune Diseases

Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and other inflammatory diseases are at increased risk for developing infections like shingles.  Many patients take immunosuppressive drugs to treat the inflammation and pain associated with those diseases. A new study examined whether patients beginning anti-TNF therapy are at increased risk for developing shingles.  “These are therapies that are very specific in terms of inhibiting a specific component of the immune system.” Dr. Kevin Winthrop and co-authors studied patients who began anti-TNF therapy and whether using this therapy increased their risk of developing shingles compared to patients who used other therapies. “The patients who started the anti-TNF drugs were at no higher risk for developing shingles than the patients who started the non-biologic drugs.” The study appears in the current edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.