Study: New Drugs Don’t Raise Shingles Risk

Powerful new medicines used to suppress the immune system don’t increase the risk of the skin disease shingles, a study finds. People who have had chickenpox can develop shingles. The virus that causes chickenpox stays hidden in the body. If it becomes active again, it can cause shingles. The study focused on people with autoimmune diseases. These diseases are caused by an attack of the immune system on part of the body. Examples include rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease. The newest medicines for some of these conditions are called anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs. They suppress the immune system. As a result, they can increase the risk of some infections. The new study looked at records for about 60,000 people with autoimmune diseases. It compared shingles rates for those who took anti-TNF drugs and those who took other drugs.