Arthritis drugs linked to increased risk of shingles

Published on Tuesday 17 February 2009 20:57

DRUGS for rheumatoid arthritis can increase the risk of shingles, a study has shown.

The skin condition, which produces itchy blisters, is caused by the chickenpox virus, Herpes zoster.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are known to be at a higher risk of shingles than the general population.

Shingles is also one of the most common adverse events reported in clinical trials of rheumatoid arthritis drugs called anti-TNF-alpha agents.

The drugs are artificial antibodies which prevent the immune system signals partly responsible for RA.

German researchers established a link after analysing data from about 5,000 patients receiving different treatments. A total of 86 outbreaks of shingles were identified among 82 patients.

Of these, 39 occurrences coincided with treatment with the anti-TNF-alpha agents, adalimumab and infliximab.

Etanercept, a protein therapy, and conventional antirheumatic drugs were associated with 23 and 24 cases respectively.