Latest news with #GuillainBarre
The Sun
07-07-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Warning to Brits getting common jab over ‘small risk' of paralysing illness
OVER 20 people developed a potentially paralysing illness after getting the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine. The UK's medicines watchdog says the jab comes with a "small risk" of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a nerve disorder that can cause muscle weakness, numbness and, in severe cases, paralysis. 1 But despite the warning, officials say the benefits of the potentially lifesaving vaccine still outweigh the risks. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has urged NHS staff after reports linked the condition to Pfizer's Abrysvo and GSK's Arexvy vaccines. The jabs are offered to older adults and pregnant women to protect against RSV - a cold-like illness that can make some people seriously ill. Every year, around 30,000 children and 24000 adults in the UK end up in hospital with severe breathing problems caused by the virus, including pneumonia and bronchiolitis, a dangerous airway infection. And each winter, about 100 children die from RSV. It's also linked to around 8,000 adult deaths, as the infection puts deadly strain on the heart, leading to organ failure. Since the jab rolled out on the NHS this September for the first time, 1.3 million people aged 75 to 79 have been vaccinated. The Commission on Human Medicines still advises that "the benefits of vaccination against RSV outweigh the small risk of developing Guillain-Barre syndrome in older adults". In its alert, published today, the MHRA said: "Healthcare professionals should advise all recipients of Abrysvo and Arexvy that they should be alert to signs and symptoms of Guillain-Barre syndrome and, if they occur, to seek immediate medical attention as it requires urgent treatment in hospital." It warned staff to be alert to the signs and symptoms of the syndrome. What is RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) or bronchiolitis? There is currently no evidence of increased risk for pregnant women vaccinated with Abrysvo, the only RSV jab approved for use during pregnancy, health chiefs said in the alert. The Pfizer vaccine Abrysvo is offered on the NHS to adults aged 75 to 79 and pregnant women. The GSK vaccine Arexvy is not yet available on the NHS but may be accessible privately. Symptoms of Guillain-Barre syndrome can include tingling, numbness or pins and needles in feet and hands, muscle weakness and difficulty moving joints. There may also be problems breathing and drooping face muscles or trouble swallowing or speaking. Up to June 2, the MHRA received 21 Yellow Card reports of suspected Guillain-Barré in older adults after Abrysvo, out of more than 1.9 million doses given. No cases have been linked to Arexvy in the UK so far, but this vaccine has been used very little. The Yellow Card scheme is the UK's system for collecting reports of possible side effects from medicines and vaccines, helping regulators monitor safety. In the US, studies suggest nine extra Guillain-Barré cases per million doses for Abrysvo and seven per million for Arexvy. What is Guillain-Barré syndrome? Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare condition that affects the nerves. About 1,500 people develop it in the UK every year, and it is more common in adults and men. It's not known exactly what causes GBS, but it's thought to be related to problems with the immune system as it usually begins with a few weeks of an infection, such as flu or a stomach bug. Normally when you get an infection, your immune system attacks and kills the bacteria or virus. But in GBS, the immune system starts to attack your nerves. This can cause symptoms, including: Tingling Numbness Pins and needles Muscle weakness Difficulty moving your joints Sharp, shooting pains Problems breathing Drooping face muscles Trouble swallowing or speaking Eyesight issues, such as double vision Some people's symptoms are so severe, they become paralysed and cannot move their legs, arms or face. GBS is serious and requires urgent treatment in hospital, sometimes for several months. Most people will be able to walk within six months and recover within a year. Source: NHS
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Health regulator issues warning as vaccine given to millions is linked to debilitating illness
NHS staff must now warn patients of a rare neurological reaction linked to a new vaccine given to millions of pensioners and pregnant women after a string of cases. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued the alert for two versions of a jab that protects against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). This alert was issued after reports of 21 patients—all over 60—developing Guillain-Barré syndrome after being vaccinated. Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare but serious neurological disorder which needs urgent treatment in hospital to prevent it progressing. It can affect people's senses, movement, breathing and heartbeat and usual starts in the arms and legs before spreading to other areas. The alert doesn't mean the jab has been withdrawn, just that staff need to inform patients of the link so any who develop the reaction get the help they need as soon as possible. In fact, experts said the benefits of being protected against RSV, which kills 8,000 adults and 100 babies each year and hospitalises many more, outweighs the small risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome, so it is still recommended to get it if offered. The MHRA issued the alert for both the Abrysvo RSV jab—made by Pfizer of Covid vaccine fame—and another RSV jab called Arexvy, made by GSK. Abrysvo is available in the NHS while latter is available privately. The MHRA alert reads: 'Healthcare professionals should advise all recipients of Abrysvo and Arexvy that they should be alert to signs and symptoms of Guillain-Barré syndrome and, if they occur, to seek immediate medical attention as it requires urgent treatment in hospital.' While warnings that the jab may cause the syndrome are included in patient safety information leaflets NHS staff will now have to warn patients directly. The watchdog's warning follows a similar one issued by US health chiefs who in January. Like UK experts, American officials also said while awareness of the risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome was important taking jab if eligible was still recommended. Symptoms of Guillain-Barré syndrome can include tingling, numbness or pins and needles in feet and hands, muscle weakness and difficulty moving joints. There may also be problems breathing and drooping face muscles or trouble swallowing or speaking. Up to June 2, the MHRA has received 21 Yellow Card reports of suspected Guillain-Barré syndrome in older adults, aged 75-79 where known, after they were given an Abrysvo vaccine. This out of almost 2million doses of Abrysvo administered, it said. The MHRA has not received any Yellow Card reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome following Arexvy, however it noted there has been very limited use of this vaccine in the UK to date. The 'Yellow Card' scheme allows officials to track potential adverse reactions to medications approved for use in the UK and spot emerging patterns. Every drug approved for use in Britain has to go through safety trials before being made available to the public. But there is an unavoidable risk that rare reactions may have been missed, which is where the Yellow Card system comes in. If a worrying pattern emerges it can lead to drugs' approval being reviewed, having new warnings added to the labels or the medication potentially being taken off the market completely. As anyone can use the system—patients as well as their medics—a reaction being linked to a vaccine or drug is not proof it was responsible. The MHRA highlights that some reactions may simply be coincidence. For example, a patient given an RSV jab may develop Guillain-Barre syndrome, but the vaccine itself may not be responsible. Guillain-Barré syndrome is a poorly understood condition. It occurs when the body's immune system, which normally protects people from infection, mistakenly attacks healthy nerve cells. While most patients recover within a year, some are left with permanent nerve damage. What triggers the immune system to attack nerve cells in Guillain-Barré syndrome isn't understood. But, as the syndrome can also occur following an infection with a virus or bacteria, some experts suspect it's caused by a misfiring of the immune system in response to a foreign substance, be that a pathogen or a vaccine. Such reactions, from both infections or RSV vaccines, are rare, with the risk estimated to be about one in every 1,000. RSV vaccines, which were only approved in the UK last year, offer protection to older adults and babies who are at increased risk of becoming seriously ill if infected. The virus can cause dangerous breathing problems in babies as well as pneumonia in older people, both of which may require hospital stays. RSV jabs are offered to pregnant women so that the protection passes to the developing baby, reducing their risk of severe infection by about 70 per cent. Government data shows that 62 per cent of eligible older adults and about half of pregnant offered the RSV vaccine on the NHS in England had the jab. The latest NHS data—for the 2023-2024 financial year—recorded about 3,000 admissions for Guillain-Barré syndrome in England's hospitals though some cases could be the same patient needing to admitted multiple times that year.
Geek Wire
01-07-2025
- Health
- Geek Wire
Seattle startup Circulate Health raises $12M for pricey ‘blood-cleaning' longevity service
A patient receiving therapeutic plasma exchange services from Circulate Health. (Circulate Photo) Circulate Health, a Seattle health longevity startup, today announced $12 million in seed funding. The company is partnering with two-dozen clinics in eight states to provide a blood-cleaning service for patients in pursuit of longer, healthier lives. It recently published a study of 42 adults showing potential benefits following repeated treatments. Circulate is deploying machines that provide therapeutic plasma exchange along with protocols aiming to support longevity and specially trained nurses to operate the devices. The goal is to deliver a circulatory-system tune up that cleans out inflammatory factors and biological compounds associated with aging. The machine removes a patient's blood, separates out the liquid plasma, and returns clean blood cells with a replacement protein fluid. 'The first step is to get [plasma exchange] out there and really be the first outpatient option for what I consider the coming renaissance of plasma exchange — the idea of targeted blood cleaning,' said Dr. Brad Younggren, Circulate's co-founder and CEO. Since May 2024, Circulate has provided more than 1,000 treatments, which run about $8,000-$10,000 for a single session. The procedure is not proven to slow aging or covered by insurance. Brad Younggren, CEO and co-founder of Circulate Health. (Circulate Photo) Plasma exchange is considered medically effective for conditions including certain cases of multiple sclerosis and leukemia, Guillain Barre syndrome, sickle cell disease, some organ transplant situations, and other specific conditions. The treatment is more recently being pitched as the next big thing by some promoters of biohacking — a lifestyle that includes using cutting-edge and not necessarily scientifically verified strategies for improving mental performance and longevity. Circulate operated in stealth mode for a couple of years and officially launched in January 2024 when Younggren came on board. Its co-founder is Dr. Eric Verdin, CEO of the Buck Institute of Research on Aging in Novato California. Verdin's research is the scientific basis of Circulate's services. The company partnered with the Buck Institute to research the impacts of plasma exchange and in May published a study in the journal Aging Cell. The experiment looked at numerous age-related biomarkers found in cells that can be used to calculate someone's 'biological age.' It compared three groups of participants who were nearly 67 years old on average: one that received a placebo, one that received six plasma exchanges, and one that received six exchanges that included a dose of antibodies. The group receiving exchanges with antibodies fared the best, with a biological age reduction of 2.61 years on average. 'We saw a lot of expected outcomes that would be consistent with cellular rejuvenation,' Younggren said. Study limitations But the encouraging results come with significant caveats. Circulate's study was small and did not look for impacts that extended beyond the three to five months of treatments. The research also didn't measure changes to how a patient felt or test their cognitive health. In a May article about the study in the New York Times, multiple medical experts questioned the significance of the findings. Dr. Jeffrey Winters, chair of transfusion medicine at the Mayo Clinic, said the results don't indicate the therapy will lead to longer, healthier lives, telling the Times that the proof of longevity benefits 'really isn't there.' Critics also noted that the last of the three blood samples taken during the study found reduced improvements compared to earlier samples, suggesting the benefits could wane over time. And there are safety concerns around the risk of infections or other complications with the treatment, which takes about two hours. Most of the startup's partners are longevity clinics whose services can include: full-body MRIs used to look for early signs of cancer or other issues; genomic sequencing; more detailed blood analysis than is routinely performed by medical providers; and imaging of coronary arteries. Younggren acknowledged that further research into the impacts of plasma exchange is warranted, and said the company is analyzing data routinely collected at the clinics as another source of insight. People without thousands of dollars to spend on elective services can sell or donate their plasma for use in lifesaving medical treatments — and gain some of the potential benefits of the commercial treatment. Younggren highlighted differences with Circulate's protocol that try to boost the longevity impacts. Circulate removes a larger volume of plasma and replaces it with a protein solution called albumin instead of the saline provided in donations. The startup also gives a dose of an antibody that could aid in 'cellular rejuvenation,' he said. While longevity care in general is expensive, Younggren suggested that the economic — not to mention personal — benefits of preventing costly disease could pencil out at some point. Circulate Health uses devices from Optia to provide plasma exchange. (Circulate Photo) Longing for longevity Younggren has worked for decades in medicine, serving as chief medical officer at Seattle telehealth startup 98point6 for seven years. He recruited Robbie Schwietzer, the former chief product officer at 98point6 and past operating partner with Khosla Ventures, to the Circulate team as chief operations officer. Khosla was the lead investor in the newly announced seed round, which helped pay for the study published in Aging Cell. Seaside Ventures and CSC Ventures also invested. Circulate's U.S. competitors include MaxWell Clinic and Next Health, which also provide plasma exchange to promote longer life. Longevity tech is an evolving sector that attracted $1.8 billion in investments from 2021 through the first quarter of this year, according to PitchBook. While the field's focus was once on age-related ailments such as cardiovascular and neurological diseases, it's turning to biological factors associated with aging and extending lifespans, PitchBook noted. Big names in tech such as Jeff Bezos and OpenAI's Sam Altman are backing health longevity startups. The Trump administration includes proponents such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who said he follows an anti-aging protocol and is promoting a 'make American healthy again' initiative. Younggren said the startup could possibly apply for U.S. government funding to support research. 'This notion of making America healthy again,' Younggren said, 'fits right in with what we're trying to do.'
South China Morning Post
16-06-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Why this Brazilian football veteran refuses to leave Hong Kong after 17 years
More than 17 years after she handed over the DVDs that secured her honeymooning son a sudden move to Hong Kong, Helio Goncalves' mother would like him back in Brazil to work in the family's boat licensing business. Released by Kitchee last month after 11 years at the club, centre-back Goncalves is hunting for a new employer. But the 39-year-old, who spent his opening six years in Hong Kong with Citizen, is planning to keep mum waiting. 'Hong Kong is my place, I became a better man here – spiritually,' Goncalves said. 'I raised my family here. 'Also, I believe in God and, in this period, I have become more attached.' Goncalves lent on that faith last year when the youngest of his three children, five-year-old Aron, became gravely ill after contracting Guillain-Barre Syndrome while on holiday in Orlando. Helio Goncalves leaps highest in a triumphant 2023 title decider against Lee Man. Photo: Dickson Lee 'It was very severe,' Goncalves said. 'First, the movement in his legs stopped, then it moved higher. Everything stopped working. He couldn't move his eyes; even his lungs were affected. He was in a lot of danger.'
