title: Immune-mediated myelitis following hepatitis B vaccination.
abstract: The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an important international cause of infectious acute and chronic liver diseases. HBV vaccines were developed to combat the potential life-threatening effects of HBV infection. Published case histories, retrospective reviews and analyses of epidemiological data report on the onset of immune-mediated myelitis after recombinant HBV vaccination, mostly in adults with a presumed genetic/immunologic predisposition. However, HBV vaccination has not borne out to be a significant trigger of serious autoimmune events, including acute myelitis, in populations at large over prolonged observation periods after immunization. Published study methods lack the sensitivity to categorically establish a causal relationship between exposure to HBV vaccine components and immune mediated myelitis, but in practice the faint possibility of such a link should not be totally rejected.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Weill Cornell Medical College/New York Presbyterian Hospital, NY 10065-4885, USA. pstuebge@med.cornell.edu
authors.forename: Joerg-Patrick
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Stübgen
mesh_terms: D015551:Autoimmunity; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D009187:Myelitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014611:Vaccination / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines