The Journal of infectious diseases
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Vaccination against Herpes Zoster and Postherpetic Neuralgia.
Herpes zoster (HZ) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) cause significant morbidity in older adults. The incidence and severity of HZ and PHN increase with age in association with an age-related decline in varicella-zoster virus (VZV)-specific cell-mediated immunity (VZV-CMI). VZV vaccines can boost VZV-CMI. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that VZV vaccination would protect older adults against HZ and PHN. ⋯ The Shingles Prevention Study demonstrated that HZ vaccine significantly reduced the morbidity due to HZ and PHN in older adults.