The SENIEUR protocol and the efficacy of hepatitis B vaccination in healthy elderly persons by age, gender, and vaccine route.

Background: Reduced response to hepatitis B vaccines is associated with aging, confounding and comorbid conditions, as well as inadvertent subcutaneous (SC) inoculation. We hypothesized that the antibody and T cell-mediated immune responses (T-CMI) of elderly adults to a vaccine intended for intramuscular (IM) administration would be attenuated when deposited into SC fat, independent of confounding conditions.

Results: Fifty-two healthy, community dwelling elderly adults (65-82 years), seronegative for HBV, were enrolled in the SENIEUR protocol as a strictly healthy population.

Safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of a recombinant protective antigen anthrax vaccine given to healthy adults.

Background: Bacillus anthracis causes anthrax, a vaccine-preventable zoonotic disease that may follow intentional or unintentional exposure to its spores. Although an anthrax vaccine is currently licensed in the USA, better vaccines are desirable for both pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis.

Methods: Healthy adults, aged 18-40 years, received anthrax immunization with either licensed Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (AVA, BioThrax), or an experimental recombinant Protective Antigen vaccine (rPA) produced from an avirulent, non-spore-forming strain of B.

Restoration of immunity in lymphopenic individuals with cancer by vaccination and adoptive T-cell transfer.

Immunodeficiency is a barrier to successful vaccination in individuals with cancer and chronic infection. We performed a randomized phase 1/2 study in lymphopenic individuals after high-dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for myeloma. Combination immunotherapy consisting of a single early post-transplant infusion of in vivo vaccine-primed and ex vivo costimulated autologous T cells followed by post-transplant booster immunizations improved the severe immunodeficiency associated with high-dose chemotherapy and led to the induction of clinically relevant immunity in adults within a month after transplantation.