Influenza vaccination in the elderly: improved antibody response with Imuthiol (Na diethyldithiocarbamate) adjuvant...

To improve influenza vaccine efficacy in hospitalized elderly, we compared the evolution of antibody level after vaccination in three patient groups. A sample of apparently primo vaccinated elderly were randomized to receive either Imuthiol (Na diethyldithiocarbamate: group 1) or a placebo (group P). They were compared to patients who had been vaccinated annually for several years (group C). All patients were immunized in the same week. Antibody responses increase within 15 days to reach a plateau in group P and C, while they continue to increase in the Imuthiol treated group, reaching higher antibody levels 30 days after vaccination. This higher antibody rise in group I is essentially due to higher antibody responses in patients with initially low antibody levels and who exhibited at least a four-fold antibody rise. This effect of Imuthiol on influenza antibody responses was observed in spite of a lower nutritional status in this group, a condition that induces lower antibody responses. The higher antibody responses observed in the Imuthiol treated group allow longer protection against influenza.