Video Q&A: what is ASIA? An interview with Yehuda Shoenfeld

Influence of COVID-19 vaccines on endocrine system

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a significant health threat globally. Timely and appropriate vaccination is a key step to reduce the morbidity and mortality from COVID-19. The clinical course of COVID-19 infection and the effects of COVID-19 vaccination are influenced by patients' health situations and involve a systemic physiological reaction. Just like an "endocrine phenotype" of COVID-19 infection, endocrine dysfunction after COVID-19 vaccination also acquired clinical concerns. In the present review, we briefly introduce the commonly available vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, summarize the influence of COVID-19 vaccines on the endocrine system, and explore the underlying pathogenic mechanisms.

Severe somatoform and dysautonomic syndromes after HPV vaccination: case series and review of literature

Human papilloma virus (HPV) is recognized as a major cause for cervical cancer among women worldwide. Two HPV vaccines are currently available: Gardasil^® and Cervarix^®. Both vaccines enclose viral antigenic proteins, but differ as to the biological systems of culture and the adjuvant components. Recently, a collection of symptoms, indicating nervous system dysfunction, has been described after HPV vaccination. We retrospectively described a case series including 18 girls (aged 12–24 years) referred to our “Second Opinion Medical Network” for the evaluation of “neuropathy with autonomic dysfunction” after HPV vaccination. All girls complained of long-lasting and invalidating somatoform symptoms (including asthenia, headache, cognitive dysfunctions, myalgia, sinus tachycardia and skin rashes) that have developed 1–5 days (n = 11), 5–15 days (n = 5) and 15–20 days (n = 2) after the vaccination. These cases can be included in the recently described immune dysfunction named autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants (ASIA). HPV vaccine, through its adjuvant component, is speculated to induce an abnormal activation of the immune system, involving glia cells in the nervous system too. Further researches should aim at defining the pathological and clinical aspects of these post-vaccination diseases and identifying a genetic background predisposing to these adverse reactions.

The ASIA syndrome: basic concepts

The autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants (ASIA), also known as Shoenfeld's syndrome, encompasses several autoimmune conditions/phenomena that are induced following the exposure to substances with adjuvant activity. The disease spectrum is heterogeneous in respect to clinical presentation as well as severity of the clinical manifestations. Adjuvants are included in vaccination formulations for their immunogenic properties. Despite being generally well tolerated, safe and effective, some genetically predisposed individuals can develop generalized non-specific constitutional symptoms, autoantibody production, new onset, or worsening of disease presentation. In this review, we focus on the current knowledge presented in the literature on ASIA syndrome, increasing physician awareness about the basic concepts of ASIA syndrome and highlight the devastating amount of data accumulated in the last few years concerning the relationship between various adjuvants and autoimmunity.