Clinical Research Directory

Comparative Study of Two Vaccination Schedules for the Subunit Herpes Zoster Vaccine in Multiple Sclerosis and Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disease Patients Treated With Anti-CD20 Therapy: an Open-label Randomised Controlled Trial

Immunocompromised individuals, such as patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) or diseases of the neuromyelitis optica spectrum (NMOSD) treated with an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, present an increased risk of shingles. The immunogenicity - and therefore the clinical effectiveness - of the recombinant vaccine against the varicella zoster virus based on glycoprotein E, recently recommended according to two-dose schedule two months apart in immunocompromised patients aged ≥ 18 years, could be significantly decreased when administered one month before and one month after the infusion of anti-CD20. We hypothesize that, in patients with MS or NMOSD treated with anti-CD20 administered every six months, a two-dose M0-M6 vaccination schedule consisting of deferring the second dose six months after the first infusion, that is, five months after the anti-CD20 infusion, could improve vaccine immunogenicity and, consequently, the effectiveness of the vaccine.