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Krauss SR, Barbateskovic M, Klingenberg SL, Djurisic S, Petersen SB, Kenfelt M, Kong DZ, Jakobsen JC, Gluud C. Aluminium adjuvants versus placebo or no intervention in vaccine randomised clinical trials: a systematic review with meta-analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis. BMJ Open 2022; 12:e058795. [PMID: 35738649 PMCID: PMC9226993 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To assess the benefits and harms of aluminium adjuvants versus placebo or no intervention in randomised clinical trials in relation to human vaccine development. DESIGN Systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis assessing the certainty of evidence with Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). DATA SOURCES We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, LILACS, BIOSIS, Science Citation Index Expanded and Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Science until 29 June 2021, and Chinese databases until September 2021. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA Randomised clinical trials irrespective of type, status and language of publication, with trial participants of any sex, age, ethnicity, diagnosis, comorbidity and country of residence. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed risk of bias with Cochrane's RoB tool 1. Dichotomous data were analysed as risk ratios (RRs) and continuous data as mean differences. We explored both fixed-effect and random-effects models, with 95% CI. Heterogeneity was quantified with I2 statistic. We GRADE assessed the certainty of the evidence. RESULTS We included 102 randomised clinical trials (26 457 participants). Aluminium adjuvants versus placebo or no intervention may have no effect on serious adverse events (RR 1.18, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.43; very low certainty) and on all-cause mortality (RR 1.02, 95% CI 0.74 to 1.41; very low certainty). No trial reported on quality of life. Aluminium adjuvants versus placebo or no intervention may increase adverse events (RR 1.13, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.20; very low certainty). We found no or little evidence of a difference between aluminium adjuvants versus placebo or no intervention when assessing serology with geometric mean titres or concentrations or participants' seroprotection. CONCLUSIONS Based on evidence at very low certainty, we were unable to identify benefits of aluminium adjuvants, which may be associated with adverse events considered non-serious.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Russo Krauss
- The Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research, The Capital Region, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Marija Barbateskovic
- The Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research, The Capital Region, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sarah Louise Klingenberg
- The Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research, The Capital Region, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Snezana Djurisic
- The Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research, The Capital Region, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sesilje Bondo Petersen
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital - Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - De Zhao Kong
- The Evidence-Based Medicine Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
- Department of Evidence-based Chinese Medicine Research Centre, The Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
| | - Janus C Jakobsen
- The Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research, The Capital Region, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Regional Health Research, The Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Christian Gluud
- The Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research, The Capital Region, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Regional Health Research, The Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
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Petersen SB, Gluud C. Was amorphous aluminium hydroxyphosphate sulfate adequately evaluated before authorisation in Europe? BMJ Evid Based Med 2021; 26:285-289. [PMID: 32763959 PMCID: PMC8639934 DOI: 10.1136/bmjebm-2020-111419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp aluminium adjuvant 'amorphous aluminium hydroxyphosphate sulfate' (AAHS), primarily used in the Gardasil vaccines against human papilloma virus, has been criticised for lack of evidence for its safety. Documentation from Danish authorities and answers from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) suggest that AAHS may not have been sufficiently evaluated. Documentation from the Danish Medicines Agency shows discrepancies in the trial documents of two prelicensure clinical trials with Gardasil in 2002 and 2003. For both trials, the Agency seems to have authorised potassium aluminium sulfate as the adjuvant and not AAHS. In addition, the participants in the trial launched in 2002 were informed that the comparator was saline, even though the comparator was AAHS in an expedient consisting of L-histidine, polysorbate-80, sodium borate and sodium chloride. According to the EMA, AAHS was first introduced in Europe in 2004 as the adjuvant in Procomvax, a vaccine against the hepatitis B virus and Haemophilus influenza type b. The EMA reports that AAHS was introduced without any prelicensure safety evaluation. The adjuvant is described by the company to be both physically and functionally distinct from all other previously used aluminium adjuvants. There is a need for rigorous evaluation of benefits and harms of the adjuvant AAHS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sesilje B Petersen
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christian Gluud
- The Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Shardlow E, Linhart C, Connor S, Softely E, Exley C. The measurement and full statistical analysis including Bayesian methods of the aluminium content of infant vaccines. J Trace Elem Med Biol 2021; 66:126762. [PMID: 33887692 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2021.126762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Aluminium salts are the most common adjuvants in infant vaccines. The aluminium content of a vaccine is provided by the manufacturer and is indicated on the patient information leaflet. There is no independent verification, for example by the European Medicines Agency, of the aluminium content of infant vaccines. METHODS We have measured the aluminium content of thirteen infant vaccines using microwave-assisted acid and peroxide digestion followed by transversely heated graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Our data are compared with manufacturer's data using full statistical analyses including Bayesian methods. RESULTS We found that only three vaccines contained the amount of aluminium indicated by the manufacturer. Six vaccines contained a statistically significant (P < 0.05) greater quantity while four vaccines contained a statistically significant (P < 0.05) lower quantity. The range of content for any single vaccine varied considerably, for example, from 0.172 to 0.602 mg/vaccine for Havrix. CONCLUSIONS The data have raised specific questions about the significance of the aluminium content of vaccines and identified areas of extremely limited information. Since aluminium is a known toxin in humans and specifically a neurotoxin, its content in vaccines should be accurate and independently monitored to ensure both efficacy and safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Shardlow
- The Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Caroline Linhart
- The Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Sameerah Connor
- Life Sciences, The Huxley Building, Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Erin Softely
- Life Sciences, The Huxley Building, Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher Exley
- The Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom.
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Khatami M. Deceptology in cancer and vaccine sciences: Seeds of immune destruction-mini electric shocks in mitochondria: Neuroplasticity-electrobiology of response profiles and increased induced diseases in four generations - A hypothesis. Clin Transl Med 2020; 10:e215. [PMID: 33377661 PMCID: PMC7749544 DOI: 10.1002/ctm2.215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
From Rockefeller's support of patent medicine to Gates' patent vaccines, medical establishment invested a great deal in intellectual ignorance. Through the control over medical education and research it has created a public illusion to prop up corporate profit and encouraged the lust for money and power. An overview of data on cancer and vaccine sciences, the status of Americans' health, a survey of repeated failed projects, economic toxicity, and heavy drug consumption or addiction among young and old provide compelling evidence that in the twentieth century nearly all classic disease categories (congenital, inheritance, neonatal, or induced) shifted to increase induced diseases. Examples of this deceptology in ignoring or minimizing, and mocking fundamental discoveries and theories in cancer and vaccine sciences are attacks on research showing that (a), effective immunity is responsible for defending and killing pathogens and defective cancerous cells, correcting and repairing genetic mutations; (b) viruses cause cancer; and (c), abnormal gene mutations are often the consequences of (and secondary to) disturbances in effective immunity. The outcomes of cancer reductionist approaches to therapies reveal failure rates of 90% (+/-5) for solid tumors; loss of over 50 million lives and waste of $30-50 trillions on too many worthless, out-of-focus, and irresponsible projects. Current emphasis on vaccination of public with pathogen-specific vaccines and ingredients seems new terms for drugging young and old. Cumulative exposures to low level carcinogens and environmental hazards or high energy electronic devices (EMF; 5G) are additional triggers to vaccine toxicities (antigen-mitochondrial overload) or "seeds of immune destruction" that create mini electrical shocks (molecular sinks holes) in highly synchronized and regulated immune network that retard time-energy-dependent biorhythms in organs resulting in causes, exacerbations or consequences of mild, moderate or severe immune disorders. Four generations of drug-dependent Americans strongly suggest that medical establishment has practiced decades of intellectual deception through its claims on "war on cancer"; that cancer is 100, 200, or 1000 diseases; identification of "individual" genetic mutations to cure diseases; "vaccines are safe". Such immoral and unethical practices, along with intellectual harassment and bullying, censoring or silencing of independent and competent professionals ("Intellectual Me Too") present grave concerns, far greater compared with the sexual harassment of 'Me Too' movement that was recently spearheaded by NIH. The principal driving forces behind conducting deceptive and illogical medical/cancer and vaccine projects seem to be; (a) huge return of investment and corporate profit for selling drugs and vaccines; (b) maintenance of abusive power over public health; (c) global control of population growth via increased induction of diseases, infertility, decline in life-span, and death. An overview of accidental discoveries that we established and extended since 1980s, on models of acute and chronic ocular inflammatory diseases, provides series of the first evidence for a direct link between inflammation and multistep immune dysfunction in tumorigenesis and angiogenesis. Results are relevant to demonstrate that current emphasis on vaccinating the unborn, newborn, or infant would induce immediate or long-term immune disorders (eg, low birth weight, preterm birth, fatigue, autism, epilepsy/seizures, BBB leakage, autoimmune, neurodegenerative or digestive diseases, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, or cancers). Vaccination of the unborn is likely to disturb trophoblast-embryo-fetus-placenta biology and orderly growth of embryo-fetus, alter epithelial-mesenchymal transition or constituent-inducible receptors, damage mitochondria, and diverse function of histamine-histidine pathways. Significant increased in childhood illnesses are likely due to toxicities of vaccine and incipient (eg, metals [Al, Hg], detergents, fetal tissue, DNA/RNA) that retard bioenergetics of mitochondria, alter polarization-depolarization balance of tumoricidal (Yin) and tumorigenic (Yang) properties of immunity. Captivated by complex electobiology of immunity, this multidisciplinary perspective is an attempt to initiate identifying bases for increased induction of immune disorders in three to four generations in America. We hypothesize that (a) gene-environment-immune biorhythms parallel neuronal function (brain neuroplasticity) with super-packages of inducible (adaptive or horizontal) electronic signals and (b) autonomic sympathetic and parasympathetic circuitry that shape immunity (Yin-Yang) cannot be explained by limited genomics (innate, perpendicular) that conventionally explain certain inherited diseases (eg, sickle cell anemia, progeria). Future studies should focus on deep learning of complex electrobiology of immunity that requires differential bioenergetics from mitochondria and cytoplasm. Approaches to limit or control excessive activation of gene-environment-immunity are keys to assess accurate disease risk formulations, prevent inducible diseases, and develop universal safe vaccines that promote health, the most basic human right.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahin Khatami
- Inflammation, Aging and Cancer, National Cancer Institute (NCI)the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (Retired)BethesdaMarylandUSA
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5
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Crépeaux G, Authier FJ, Exley C, Luján L, Gherardi RK. The role of aluminum adjuvants in vaccines raises issues that deserve independent, rigorous and honest science. J Trace Elem Med Biol 2020; 62:126632. [PMID: 32823165 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2020.126632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Revised: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Guillemette Crépeaux
- Univ Paris Est Creteil, INSERM, IMRB, F-94010 Creteil, France; EnvA, IMRB, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France.
| | | | - Christopher Exley
- The Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - Lluís Luján
- Department of Animal Pathology, University of Zaragoza, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Mixto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), University of Zaragoza, Spain
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Shardlow E, Mold M, Exley C. Unraveling the enigma: elucidating the relationship between the physicochemical properties of aluminium-based adjuvants and their immunological mechanisms of action. ALLERGY, ASTHMA, AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY : OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY 2018; 14:80. [PMID: 30455719 PMCID: PMC6223008 DOI: 10.1186/s13223-018-0305-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2018] [Accepted: 10/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Aluminium salts are by far the most commonly used adjuvants in vaccines. There are only two aluminium salts which are used in clinically-approved vaccines, Alhydrogel® and AdjuPhos®, while the novel aluminium adjuvant used in Gardasil® is a sulphated version of the latter. We have investigated the physicochemical properties of these two aluminium adjuvants and specifically in milieus approximating to both vaccine vehicles and the composition of injection sites. Additionally we have used a monocytic cell line to establish the relationship between their physicochemical properties and their internalisation and cytotoxicity. We emphasise that aluminium adjuvants used in clinically approved vaccines are chemically and biologically dissimilar with concomitantly potentially distinct roles in vaccine-related adverse events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Shardlow
- The Birchall Centre, Lennard Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG UK
| | - Matthew Mold
- The Birchall Centre, Lennard Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG UK
| | - Christopher Exley
- The Birchall Centre, Lennard Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG UK
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7
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Djurisic S, Jakobsen JC, Petersen SB, Kenfelt M, Klingenberg SL, Gluud C. Aluminium adjuvants used in vaccines. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018; 2018:CD013086. [PMCID: PMC6373706 DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd013086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the benefits and harms of aluminium adjuvants used in a vaccine or an excipient versus the same vaccine or excipient, but having a different type of aluminium adjuvant formulation, or a different concentration, or with a different particle size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Snezana Djurisic
- Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research,
Department 7812, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University HospitalCopenhagenDenmark
| | - Janus C Jakobsen
- Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research,
Department 7812, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University HospitalCochrane Hepato‐Biliary GroupBlegdamsvej 9CopenhagenDenmarkDK‐2100
| | - Sesilje B Petersen
- Bispebjerg HospitalDepartment of Occupational and Environmental MedicineCopenhagenDenmark
| | | | - Sarah Louise Klingenberg
- Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research,
Department 7812, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University HospitalThe Cochrane Hepato‐Biliary GroupBlegdamsvej 9CopenhagenDenmarkDK‐2100
| | - Christian Gluud
- Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research,
Department 7812, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University HospitalCochrane Hepato‐Biliary GroupBlegdamsvej 9CopenhagenDenmarkDK‐2100
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8
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Animal studies are mandatory to investigate the poorly understood fate and effects of aluminum adjuvants administered to billions of humans and animals worldwide. Autoimmun Rev 2018; 17:735-737. [DOI: 10.1016/j.autrev.2018.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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9
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DeLong G. A lowered probability of pregnancy in females in the USA aged 25-29 who received a human papillomavirus vaccine injection. JOURNAL OF TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. PART A 2018; 81:661-674. [PMID: 29889622 DOI: 10.1080/15287394.2018.1477640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2017] [Revised: 05/13/2018] [Accepted: 05/14/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Birth rates in the United States have recently fallen. Birth rates per 1000 females aged 25-29 fell from 118 in 2007 to 105 in 2015. One factor may involve the vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV). Shortly after the vaccine was licensed, several reports of recipients experiencing primary ovarian failure emerged. This study analyzed information gathered in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which represented 8 million 25-to-29-year-old women residing in the United States between 2007 and 2014. Approximately 60% of women who did not receive the HPV vaccine had been pregnant at least once, whereas only 35% of women who were exposed to the vaccine had conceived. For married women, 75% who did not receive the shot were found to conceive, while only 50% who received the vaccine had ever been pregnant. Using logistic regression to analyze the data, the probability of having been pregnant was estimated for females who received an HPV vaccine compared with females who did not receive the shot. Results suggest that females who received the HPV shot were less likely to have ever been pregnant than women in the same age group who did not receive the shot. If 100% of females in this study had received the HPV vaccine, data suggest the number of women having ever conceived would have fallen by 2 million. Further study into the influence of HPV vaccine on fertility is thus warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gayle DeLong
- a Department of Economics and Finance , Baruch College/City University of New York , New York , NY , USA
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10
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Masson JD, Crépeaux G, Authier FJ, Exley C, Gherardi RK. Critical analysis of reference studies on the toxicokinetics of aluminum-based adjuvants. J Inorg Biochem 2017; 181:87-95. [PMID: 29307441 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2017.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2017] [Revised: 12/21/2017] [Accepted: 12/22/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
We reviewed the three toxicokinetic reference studies commonly used to suggest that aluminum (Al)-based adjuvants are innocuous. A single experimental study was carried out using isotopic 26Al (Flarend et al., Vaccine, 1997). This study used aluminum salts resembling those used in vaccines but ignored adjuvant uptake by cells that was not fully documented at the time. It was conducted over a short period of time (28days) and used only two rabbits per adjuvant. At the endpoint, Al elimination in the urine accounted for 6% for Al hydroxide and 22% for Al phosphate, both results being incompatible with rapid elimination of vaccine-derived Al in urine. Two theoretical studies have evaluated the potential risk of vaccine Al in infants, by reference to an oral "minimal risk level" (MRL) extrapolated from animal studies. Keith et al. (Vaccine, 2002) used a high MRL (2mg/kg/d), an erroneous model of 100% immediate absorption of vaccine Al, and did not consider renal and blood-brain barrier immaturity. Mitkus et al. (Vaccine, 2011) only considered solubilized Al, with erroneous calculations of absorption duration. Systemic Al particle diffusion and neuro-inflammatory potential were omitted. The MRL they used was both inappropriate (oral Al vs. injected adjuvant) and still too high (1mg/kg/d) regarding recent animal studies. Both paucity and serious weaknesses of reference studies strongly suggest that novel experimental studies of Al adjuvants toxicokinetics should be performed on the long-term, including both neonatal and adult exposures, to ensure their safety and restore population confidence in Al-containing vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Daniel Masson
- INSERM U955 E10, Biologie du système neuromusculaire, Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Est Créteil, Créteil 94010, France
| | - Guillemette Crépeaux
- INSERM U955 E10, Biologie du système neuromusculaire, Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Est Créteil, Créteil 94010, France; Génétique médicale comparée des affections neuromusculaires, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, 7 Avenue du général de Gaulle, 9400 Maisons-Alfort, France
| | - François-Jérôme Authier
- INSERM U955 E10, Biologie du système neuromusculaire, Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Est Créteil, Créteil 94010, France
| | - Christopher Exley
- The Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK
| | - Romain K Gherardi
- INSERM U955 E10, Biologie du système neuromusculaire, Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Est Créteil, Créteil 94010, France.
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Djurisic S, Jakobsen JC, Petersen SB, Kenfelt M, Gluud C. Aluminium adjuvants used in vaccines versus placebo or no intervention. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd012805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Snezana Djurisic
- Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research, Department 7812, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital; Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Janus C Jakobsen
- Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research, Department 7812, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital; Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group; Blegdamsvej 9 Copenhagen Sjaelland Denmark DK-2100
| | - Sesilje B Petersen
- Bispebjerg Hospital; Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine; Copenhagen Denmark
| | | | - Christian Gluud
- Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research, Department 7812, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital; Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group; Blegdamsvej 9 Copenhagen Sjaelland Denmark DK-2100
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Masson JD, Crépeaux G, Authier FJ, Exley C, Gherardi R. Adjuvants aluminiques des vaccins : analyse critique des études toxicocinétiques de référence. ANNALES PHARMACEUTIQUES FRANÇAISES 2017; 75:245-256. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pharma.2017.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2017] [Revised: 04/19/2017] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
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Exley C. The safety of Cervarix? THE LANCET. INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2017; 17:19-20. [PMID: 27998561 DOI: 10.1016/s1473-3099(16)30546-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2016] [Accepted: 11/04/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Exley
- The Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK.
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Inbar R, Weiss R, Tomljenovic L, Arango MT, Deri Y, Shaw CA, Chapman J, Blank M, Shoenfeld Y. Behavioral abnormalities in female mice following administration of aluminum adjuvants and the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil. Immunol Res 2016; 65:136-149. [DOI: 10.1007/s12026-016-8826-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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Inbar R, Weiss R, Tomljenovic L, Arango MT, Deri Y, Shaw CA, Chapman J, Blank M, Shoenfeld Y. WITHDRAWN: Behavioral abnormalities in young female mice following administration of aluminum adjuvants and the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil. Vaccine 2016:S0264-410X(16)00016-5. [PMID: 26778424 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.12.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2015] [Revised: 12/15/2015] [Accepted: 12/31/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
This article has been withdrawn at the request of the Editor-in-Chief due to serious concerns regarding the scientific soundness of the article. Review by the Editor-in-Chief and evaluation by outside experts, confirmed that the methodology is seriously flawed, and the claims that the article makes are unjustified. As an international peer-reviewed journal we believe it is our duty to withdraw the article from further circulation, and to notify the community of this issue. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rotem Inbar
- Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621 Ramat Gan, Israel; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621 Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Ronen Weiss
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978 Tel-Aviv, Israel; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978 Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Lucija Tomljenovic
- Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621 Ramat Gan, Israel; Neural Dynamics Research Group, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, 828 W. 10th Ave, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5Z 1L8
| | - Maria-Teresa Arango
- Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621 Ramat Gan, Israel; Doctoral Program in Biomedical Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota 111221, Colombia
| | - Yael Deri
- Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621 Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Christopher A Shaw
- Neural Dynamics Research Group, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, 828 W. 10th Ave, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5Z 1L8
| | - Joab Chapman
- Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621 Ramat Gan, Israel; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978 Tel-Aviv, Israel; Department of Neurology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621 Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Miri Blank
- Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621 Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Yehuda Shoenfeld
- Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621 Ramat Gan, Israel; Incumbent of the Laura Schwarz-Kip Chair for Research of Autoimmune Diseases, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978 Tel-Aviv, Israel.
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Zinc Improves Cognitive and Neuronal Dysfunction During Aluminium-Induced Neurodegeneration. Mol Neurobiol 2016; 54:406-422. [PMID: 26742519 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-015-9653-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2015] [Accepted: 12/17/2015] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Metals are considered as important components of a physiologically active cell, and imbalance in their levels can lead to various diseased conditions. Aluminium (Al) is an environmental neurotoxicant, which is etiologically related to several neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's, whereas zinc (Zn) is an essential trace element that regulates a large number of metabolic processes in the brain. The objective of the present study was to understand whether Zn provides any physiological protection during Al-induced neurodegeneration. Male Sprague Dawley rats weighing 140-160 g received either aluminium chloride (AlCl3) orally (100 mg/kg b.wt./day), zinc sulphate (ZnSO4) in drinking water (227 mg/L) or combined treatment of aluminium and zinc for 8 weeks. Al treatment resulted in a significant decline in the cognitive behaviour of rats, whereas zinc supplementation caused an improvement in various neurobehavior parameters. Further, Al exposure decreased (p ≤ 0.001) the levels of neurotransmitters, acetylcholinesterase activity, but increased (p ≤ 0.001) the levels of L-citrulline as well as activities of nitric oxide and monoamine oxidase in the brain. However, zinc administration to Al-treated animals increased the levels of neurotransmitters and regulated the altered activities of brain markers. Western blot of tau, amyloid precursor protein (APP), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), ubiquitin, α-synuclein and Hsp 70 were also found to be elevated after Al exposure, which however were reversed following Zn treatment. Al treatment also revealed alterations in neurohistoarchitecture in the form of loss of pyramidal and Purkinje cells, which were improved upon zinc co-administration. Therefore, the present study demonstrates that zinc improves cognitive functions by regulating α-synuclein and APP-mediated molecular pathways during aluminium-induced neurodegeneration.
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Singla N, Dhawan DK. Modulation of (14) C-labeled glucose metabolism by zinc during aluminium induced neurodegeneration. J Neurosci Res 2015; 93:1434-41. [PMID: 25908409 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2014] [Revised: 04/08/2015] [Accepted: 04/08/2015] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Aluminium (Al) is one of the most prominent metals in the environment and is responsible for causing several neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. On the other hand, zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient that is involved in regulating brain development and function. The present study investigates the protective potential of Zn in the uptake of (14) C-labeled amino acids and glucose and their turnover in rat brain slices during Al intoxication. Male Sprague Dawley rats (140-160 g) were divided into four different groups: normal control, Al treated (100 mg/kg body weight/day via oral gavage), Zn treated (227 mg/liter in drinking water), and Al + Zn treated. Radiorespirometric assay revealed an increase in glucose turnover after Al exposure that was attenuated after Zn treatment. Furthermore, the uptake of (14) C-labeled glucose was increased after Al treatment but was appreciably decreased upon Zn supplementation. In addition, the uptakes of (14) C-lysine, (14) C-leucine, and (14) C-aspartic acid were also found to be elevated following Al exposure but were decreased after Zn treatment. Al treatment also caused alterations in the neurohistoarchitecture of the brain, which were improved after Zn coadministration. Therefore, the present study suggests that Zn provides protection against Al-induced neurotoxicity by regulating glucose and amino acid uptake in rats, indicating that Zn could be a potential candidate for the treatment of various neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neha Singla
- Department of Biophysics, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
| | - D K Dhawan
- Department of Biophysics, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
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18
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Aluminum-induced entropy in biological systems: implications for neurological disease. J Toxicol 2014; 2014:491316. [PMID: 25349607 PMCID: PMC4202242 DOI: 10.1155/2014/491316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2014] [Accepted: 07/28/2014] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the last 200 years, mining, smelting, and refining of aluminum (Al) in various forms have increasingly exposed living species to this naturally abundant metal. Because of its prevalence in the earth's crust, prior to its recent uses it was regarded as inert and therefore harmless. However, Al is invariably toxic to living systems and has no known beneficial role in any biological systems. Humans are increasingly exposed to Al from food, water, medicinals, vaccines, and cosmetics, as well as from industrial occupational exposure. Al disrupts biological self-ordering, energy transduction, and signaling systems, thus increasing biosemiotic entropy. Beginning with the biophysics of water, disruption progresses through the macromolecules that are crucial to living processes (DNAs, RNAs, proteoglycans, and proteins). It injures cells, circuits, and subsystems and can cause catastrophic failures ending in death. Al forms toxic complexes with other elements, such as fluorine, and interacts negatively with mercury, lead, and glyphosate. Al negatively impacts the central nervous system in all species that have been studied, including humans. Because of the global impacts of Al on water dynamics and biosemiotic systems, CNS disorders in humans are sensitive indicators of the Al toxicants to which we are being exposed.
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Kramer MF, Heath MD. Aluminium in allergen-specific subcutaneous immunotherapy--a German perspective. Vaccine 2014; 32:4140-8. [PMID: 24892252 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.05.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2014] [Revised: 04/30/2014] [Accepted: 05/20/2014] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
We are living in an "aluminium age" with increasing bioavailability of the metal for approximately 125 years, contributing significantly to the aluminium body burden of humans. Over the course of life, aluminium accumulates and is stored predominantly in the lungs, bones, liver, kidneys and brain. The toxicity of aluminium in humans is briefly summarised, highlighting links and possible causal relationships between a high aluminium body burden and a number of neurological disorders and disease states. Aluminium salts have been used as depot-adjuvants successfully in essential prophylactic vaccinations for almost 100 years, with a convincing positive benefit-risk assessment which remains unchanged. However, allergen-specific immunotherapy commonly consists of administering a long-course programme of subcutaneous injections using preparations of relevant allergens. Regulatory authorities currently set aluminium limits for vaccines per dose, rather than per treatment course. Unlike prophylactic vaccinations, numerous injections with higher proportions of aluminium-adjuvant per injection are applied in subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) and will significantly contribute to a higher cumulative life dose of aluminium. While the human body may cope robustly with a daily aluminium overload from the environment, regulatory cumulative threshold values in immunotherapy need further addressing. Based on the current literature, predisposing an individual to an unusually high level of aluminium, such as through subcutaneous immunotherapy, has the potential to form focal accumulations in the body with the propensity to exert forms of toxicity. Particularly in relation to longer-term health effects, the safety of aluminium adjuvants in immunotherapy remains unchallenged by health authorities - evoking the need for more consideration, guidance, and transparency on what is known and not known about its safety in long-course therapy and what measures can be taken to prevent or minimise its risks. The possibility of providing an effective means of measuring aluminium accumulation in patients undergoing long-term SCIT treatment as well as reducing their aluminium body burden is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthew D Heath
- Allergy Therapeutics, Plc. Dominion Way, Worthing BN14 8SA, United Kingdom.
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Exley C. Aluminium adjuvants and adverse events in sub-cutaneous allergy immunotherapy. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol 2014; 10:4. [PMID: 24444186 PMCID: PMC3898727 DOI: 10.1186/1710-1492-10-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2013] [Accepted: 01/15/2014] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Sub-cutaneous immunotherapy is an effective treatment for allergy. It works by helping to modify or re-balance an individual’s immune response to allergens and its efficacy is greatly improved by the use of adjuvants, most commonly, aluminium hydroxide. Aluminium salts have been used in allergy therapy for many decades and are assumed to be safe with few established side-effects. This assumption belies their potency as adjuvants and their potential for biological reactivity both at injection sites and elsewhere in the body. There are very few data purporting to the safety of aluminium adjuvants in allergy immunotherapy and particularly so in relation to longer term health effects. There are, if only few, published reports of adverse events following allergy immunotherapy and aluminium adjuvants are the prime suspects in the majority of such incidents. Aluminium adjuvants are clearly capable of initiating unwanted side effects in recipients of immunotherapy and while there is as yet no evidence that such are commonplace it is complacent to consider aluminium salts as harmless constituents of allergy therapies. Future research should establish the safety of the use of aluminium adjuvants in sub-cutaneous allergy immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Exley
- The Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.
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21
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Shaw C, Li Y, Tomljenovic L. Administration of aluminium to neonatal mice in vaccine-relevant amounts is associated with adverse long term neurological outcomes. J Inorg Biochem 2013; 128:237-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2013.07.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2013] [Revised: 07/10/2013] [Accepted: 07/13/2013] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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Colafrancesco S, Perricone C, Tomljenovic L, Shoenfeld Y. Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine and Primary Ovarian Failure: Another Facet of the Autoimmune/Inflammatory Syndrome Induced by Adjuvants. Am J Reprod Immunol 2013; 70:309-16. [DOI: 10.1111/aji.12151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2013] [Accepted: 06/25/2013] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
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Tomljenovic L, Shaw CA. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine policy and evidence-based medicine: are they at odds? Ann Med 2013; 45:182-93. [PMID: 22188159 DOI: 10.3109/07853890.2011.645353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
All drugs are associated with some risks of adverse reactions. Because vaccines represent a special category of drugs, generally given to healthy individuals, uncertain benefits mean that only a small level of risk for adverse reactions is acceptable. Furthermore, medical ethics demand that vaccination should be carried out with the participant's full and informed consent. This necessitates an objective disclosure of the known or foreseeable vaccination benefits and risks. The way in which HPV vaccines are often promoted to women indicates that such disclosure is not always given from the basis of the best available knowledge. For example, while the world's leading medical authorities state that HPV vaccines are an important cervical cancer prevention tool, clinical trials show no evidence that HPV vaccination can protect against cervical cancer. Similarly, contrary to claims that cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide, existing data show that this only applies to developing countries. In the Western world cervical cancer is a rare disease with mortality rates that are several times lower than the rate of reported serious adverse reactions (including deaths) from HPV vaccination. Future vaccination policies should adhere more rigorously to evidence-based medicine and ethical guidelines for informed consent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucija Tomljenovic
- Neural Dynamics Research Group, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, 828 W. 10th Ave, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1L8, Canada.
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Tomljenovic L, Shaw CA. Too fast or not too fast: the FDA's approval of Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil. THE JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS : A JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS 2012; 40:673-81. [PMID: 23061593 DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-720x.2012.00698.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
There are not many public health issues where views are as extremely polarized as those concerning vaccines, and Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil is a case in point. Ever since gaining the FDA's approval in 2006, Merck has been heavily criticized for their overly aggressive marketing strategies and lobbying campaigns aimed at promoting Gardasil as a mandatory vaccine. Subsequently, questions have been raised as to whether it was appropriate for vaccine manufacturers to partake in public health policies when their conflicts of interests are so obvious. Some of their advertising campaign slogans, such as "cervical cancer kills x women per year" and "your daughter could become one less life affected by cervical cancer," seemed more designed to promote fear rather than evidence-based decision making about the potential benefits of the vaccine. Although, conflicts of interests do not necessarily mean that the product itself is faulty, marketing claims should be carefully examined against factual science data. Currently Gardasil vaccination is strongly recommended by the U.S. and other health authorities while public concerns about safety and efficacy of the vaccine appear to be increasing. This discrepancy leads to some important questions that need to be resolved. The current review examines key issues of this debate in light of currently available research evidence.
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