Immune stimulation by vaccination e.g. Staphylococcus Toxoid Vaccine, BCG

I don't think any had a Long-Covid follow-up

What about this one? Though note the issues in the thread about blinding.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joim.20033

Abstract
Background

Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) injected during the COVID-19 convalescence period was safe and enhanced recovery from anosmia and dysgeusia in the acute phase.

Objectives
To report the long-term results of the BATTLE trial, BCG vaccine in adults with mild COVID-19.

Methods
Design: Double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized (1:1) clinical trial. Intervention: BCG intradermal vaccine and placebo. Patients: A total of 157 BCG and 142 placebo recipients participated in the 6-month follow-up, and 97 BCG and 95 placebo recipients participated in the 12-month follow-up. Measurements: Long COVID symptoms and mechanistic analyses.

Results
BCG reduced hearing problems at 6 months (odds ratio [OR] = 0.26) and sleeping, concentration, memory, and vision problems at 12 months (OR = 0.45, 0.36, 0.38, and 0.36, respectively). Sensitivity analyses confirmed that long COVID-19 symptoms were reduced at the 6- and 12-month follow-ups (p = 0.010 and 0.031, respectively). BCG's crossover interaction paradoxically increased hair loss in women and decreased it in men at 6 months (p = 0.032). BCG immunomodulation is likely mediated through inhibition of Fas ligand expression in the blood and increased induction of IL6, IL10, interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3, and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in cultured human macrophages.

Conclusion
Long-term follow-up of the BATTLE trial participants revealed that BCG protects against long COVID development if administered within the COVID-19 convalescence period. The response to BCG was subject-specific, including a paradoxical crossover interaction based on sex. Limitations: Not tested for previous mycobacterial exposure; loss to follow-up, particularly at 12 months.
 
What about this one? Though note the issues in the thread about blinding.

I forgot about this one (even though I read about it yesterday), but glancing over what is written it doesn't seem to be one of those trials launched towards the beginning of the pandemic to address acute Covid, but seems rather Long-Covid specific?

From what I remember the trials looking at the effects on acute Covid typically had hundreds or even several thousands of participants (and I don't think any of those had a follow-up to look at LC).
 
I forgot about this one (even though I read about it yesterday), but glancing over what is written it doesn't seem to be one of those trials launched towards the beginning of the pandemic to address acute Covid, but seems rather Long-Covid specific?

From what I remember the trials looking at the effects on acute Covid typically had hundreds or even several thousands of participants (and I don't think any of those had a follow-up to look at LC).

I think this is a followup of an acute COVID study: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04369794

I think there have been a few papers on this "BATTLE trial": https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&q=jalalizadeh+bcg+battle&btnG=
 
Moderators or anyone: should this thread maybe be renamed so that the topic is vaccines in general as a treatment? I'm guessing there won't be much more news on staph toxoid specifically, and the working theory behind any vaccine as a treatment is probably pretty similar (i.e. immunostimulation). Done
 
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I don't think much of these:

"Here are all the symptoms tested, with a star next to those that had significant improvement at 26 weeks. The number is the baseline score for the active group.

*4.8 Fatiguability
4.8 Aches and pains
*4.0 Reduced sleep
3.4 Muscular tension
*2.9 Failing memory
*2.8 Concentration difficulties
2.5 Autonomic disturbances
*2.2 Hostile feelings
*1.7 Sadness
1.3 Inner tension
1.1 Pessimistic thoughts
1.0 Worrying over trifles
0.8 Suicidal thoughts
0.5 Hypochondriasis
0.4 Phobias"

Many of these are psychiatric symptoms which are not part of ME. And where is possibly the most important symptom - post-exertional malaise (PEM)?

But also the "psychiatric" symptoms have pretty low scores at baseline. 0 is normal, 6 is worst. These are comorbid CFS+FM patients, so while they didn't ask about PEM, the most severe symptoms make sense for these conditions: fatiguability, aches and pains, reduced sleep, muscular tension, failing memory, concentration difficulties.

The scores for these "psychiatric"-type symptoms are near normal: phobias, suicidal thoughts, worrying over trifles, inner tension.

If it's not ME/CFS, it's at least a condition mainly characterized by fatigue and pain, with sudden onset in at least 31% of participants. (16% infection, 15% pregnancy)
 
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Hypothesis: BCG vaccination as a treatment option for ME/CFS and Long COVID, 2024, Herbert Renz-Polster

[Not peer reviewed]

Abstract
The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine has notable “trained immunity” effects. It has shown therapeutic effects in autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes (T1D) and multiple sclerosis (MS). The BCG vaccine is the most commonly used vaccine worldwide. It may be a treatment option for Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

Link (Patient-Led Research Collaborative)

-----------------

Interesting list of benefits
The BCG vaccine also has disease-modifying effects in a range of autoimmune diseases.

For instance, in humans with early-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D), repeated BCG vaccinations (three shots within 2 years) were shown to induce long-term clinical remission in a double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

In early stages of MS, a single dose of BCG vaccine was shown to prevent progression to clinically definite disease when given after the first demyelinating event.

BCG vaccination was also shown to have preventive immune effects, including increasing resistance against childhood leukemia, atopic dermatitis, juvenile T1D, and, in patients with T1D, against COVID-19.

As a potential latent virus reactivation preventative
Also notable are the documented antiviral effects of BCG vaccination on human herpesviruses. These effects suggest that BCG vaccination may be able to prevent reactivation of latent viruses, including human herpesviruses such as varicella zoster virus, cytomegalovirus, or EBV.

Mentions staph vaccine
It may also be worth considering that a different vaccine—a staphylococcal vaccine no longer on the market—is among the few interventions that have been shown to be effective against ME/CFS in the past.
 
Moderators or anyone: should this thread maybe be renamed so that the topic is vaccines in general as a treatment? I'm guessing there won't be much more news on staph toxoid specifically, and the working theory behind any vaccine as a treatment is probably pretty similar (i.e. immunostimulation). Done
I don’t know - I think the specificity of what it is against is just as interesting tbh

I looked it up and whilst the staph bit was what I thought it was (eg sore throats - which is why I think it’s interesting as I was plagued by tonsilitis in my youth before getting ME but also lots of pwme get sore throat as symptom)

the toxoid part seems to say it’s against the skin infection reaction to the staph aureus virus


Which also makes little sense

but then I realise there are mentions of staph being related to a type of shock syndrome

too tired to unpick but guessing there was a reason for choosing this particular one

and the fact that for the old one used in the Swedish clinic (non BCG?) it has to be once a month taken ie not used as a vaccine but as a treatment makes it a bit different?
 
I think the specificity of what it is against is just as interesting tbh

I do too, I just think there might be an immune system stimulation effect common to all vaccines which is the main effect, though of course with subtle differences between different vaccines. And it might be better to have a single thread to compare and contrast different vaccines in this sense so that it is more organized and comprehensive.

If, say, BCG vaccine suddenly was shown to be very effective, or shown to have a unique mechanism apart from just priming the body for a fake infection, then maybe that could be split off into its own thread.

and the fact it has to be once a month taken ie not used as a vaccine but as a treatment makes it a bit different?

Well, I think all vaccines in this thread should be for unconventional use of them for treating, or maybe preventing, ME/CFS or long COVID, which might require weird dosing schedules.
 
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I do too, I just think there might be an immune system stimulation effect common to all vaccines which is the main effect, though of course with subtle differences between different vaccines. And it might be better to have a single thread to compare and contrast different vaccines in this sense so that it is more organized and comprehensive.

If, say, BCG vaccine suddenly was shown to be very effective, or shown to have a unique mechanism apart from just priming the body for a fake infection, then maybe that could be split off into its own thread.



Well, I think all vaccines in this thread should be about the unconventional use of them for treating, or maybe preventing, ME/CFS or long COVID, which might require weird dosing schedules.
Perhaps but looking at the original discontinued one it was a toxoid and I can’t work out if it was working on the toxins released by the staph rather than the virus itself - ended up opening an NIH paper that whole interesting is way over my head certainly in layering the cognitive load.

and there is eg a strange one like this
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7987673/
Where it mentions a vaccine for SA that targeted the wrong thing led to increased catastrophic outcomes and the trial in 8000 cardiac patients was stopped (intro first para)

so it seems there is something specific in this.

SA is a very common bacteria and associated with antibiotic resistant conditions

so it could be about ‘something already there’ rather than the standard immune response to vitus

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6024779/

particularly when you think about it being implicated in issues with people who specifically have depleted immune systems (eg hospital and mrsa) . It seems it’s this range of different groups of toxins that can cause different types of havoc with different biofilms etc


And this one on vaccines fir it specifically note how SA is a wicked problem in itself
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/staphylococcus-vaccine


So I’m torn if it was just the article above with the BCG vaccine (which notes affect in eg MS) but the first paper on this thread is the toxoid one
 
So I’m torn if it was just the article above with the BCG vaccine (which notes affect in eg MS) but the first paper on this thread is the toxoid one

I was also hoping for this thread to include discussion about COVID vaccine as a treatment for long COVID. As discussed in this thread: Link

But maybe you're right that they should all be separate.
 
I was also hoping for this thread to include discussion about COVID vaccine as a treatment for long COVID. As discussed in this thread: Link

But maybe you're right that they should all be separate.
:rofl: That sounds good too. To let you know (if you hadn’t noticed anyway :)) I’m no expert at all and v tired so just throwing ideas out but could be talking tiredness gibberish - absolutely do feel free to ignore and go for what you had in mind

it’s all very interesting either way and thanks for posting the first bit as I’ve found the info about those clinics I didn’t know existed fascinating too
 
On the Health Rising blog about Dr. Gottfries, someone made this interesting comment:
Another obscure doctor who used vaccines to treat CFS and FM and many similar hard-to-categorise conditions, with considerable success, was Dr R. Bruce Duncan, (Wellington NZ), who has been dead for more than a decade now (and he was at least well into his 80’s when he died). In his clinic, he “poked vaccines” of all kinds at various strengths, into his patients (with their consent), trying to find the one that worked. He was famous for achieving “miracle cures” when the right vaccine at the right strength was injected. He accumulated considerable knowledge and insight of what was likely to work for each patient and condition, making the process often quite short.

There are two books he wrote on the subject.

http://www.amazon.com/R.-Bruce-Duncan/e/B001KHES28

One of the books is about $40 on Amazon, the other I can only find from one seller in Germany for €400.
 
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