People with conditions like psoriasis who took a two-week break from the immune-suppressing drug methotrexate saw their antibody levels double up to 12 weeks after their third covid-19 vaccine, compared with people who took the treatment as normal
People who take a widely used medicine to suppress their overactive immune system may respond better toHaving a two-week break from the once-a-week drug methotrexate – taken by more than 1 million people in the UK alone – gave people with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis double the antibody response to their third vaccine, compared with carrying on with the treatment as normal, a study found.
The participants, who were about to have their third covid-19 vaccine – mainly the mRNA Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna jabs – towards the end of 2021, were randomly asked to take a two-week break from their medication or continue as normal. The doctor and the individual should together consider how severe the individual’s symptoms are and whether they have previously been able to pause their methotrexate use without their condition worsening considerably, he says.
The results would also have been more reliable if the trial had been “blinded”, but, instead, both the participants and their doctors knew which group of the trial they were in.at Imperial College London, who was involved in the study, believes a treatment break could benefit people taking other immune-suppressing medicines, too. But we cannot know for sure unless this is tested in a trial, she says.
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