The autovaccine is a drug that is sometimes used when the disease continues to return without responding to antibiotic treatment. It is a substance prepared especially for a given patient. Although it can be very effective, it is not a medicinal product and can only be used as part of a medical or therapeutic experiment. How does the autovaccine work and when can a doctor prescribe it?

Autoszczepionkais a preparation prepared with the use of neutralized bacteria that cause recurrent infections in a given patient. So, first the material from the infection is collected from the patient, then it is prepared in such a way that the microbes are killed and again - most often in the form of an injection, but recently also orally - they are introduced into the body. This is to wake up the immune system and build up an immune response in the patient. It is only about this particular patient. The autovaccine, also called the self vaccine, cannot be used on other people.

How the autovaccine works

This type of vaccine, as with any "regular" vaccine made for the general population, is designed to boost the body's immunity. If an individual is still struggling with recurring infections, and each time he or she is treated with an antibiotic, two things happen. First, the bacteria that causes persistent disease is already resistant to the drug, and eventually it stops working. Second, this drug affects other bacteria, including those that constitute the natural bacterial flora of the patient. At some point, it is completely sterilized, and thus the patient's immunity is seriously impaired. The autovaccine containing neutralized forms of pathogenic bacteria stimulates the autoimmune system to react. This system 'seeing' the intruder produces antibodies. And the next time his body is full of unwanted bacteria, he will have a tool to fight them off.

How an autovaccine is made

First, the material is collected from the sick, from the focus of infection. Then it is subjected to a microbiological analysis, during which a pure bacterial culture is isolated. Its strain and biochemical properties are determined. Later the microbes are killedthrough the use of phenol solutions, formaldehyde, high temperature, radiation or high pressure. At the same time, an antibiotic is performed, on the basis of which the appropriate antibiotic is determined. The entire procedure takes approximately 4 weeks. The finished autovaccine is introduced into the patient's body subcutaneously or orally in the form of gelatin capsules. It should be added that treatment with an autovaccine is not an independent form of treatment, it is carried out simultaneously with, for example, targeted antibiotic therapy.

In what cases the doctor may recommend an autovaccination

The decision to use an autovaccine can only be made after all other treatments have been exhausted and do not bring the expected results - infections keep recurring. The vaccine is manufactured at the request of a doctor as part of a therapeutic experiment, all participants must agree to participate in this experiment, after familiarizing themselves with the objectives and effects. Additionally, in order to be able to use the autovaccine, it is necessary to obtain the consent of an independent bioethical committee.

Effectiveness of autovaccines

Correct and responsible autovaccine therapies have been very effective for decades. Especially in a few specific diseases:

  • in recurrent osteomyelitis
  • in recurrent furunculosis, where only one type of bacteria is usually present, e.g.Staphylococcus aureus
  • in the treatment of acne lesions with one typePropionibacterium
  • in the treatment of respiratory diseases (tonsillitis, sinusitis)
  • in the treatment of diseases of the genital and urinary systems

In diseases caused by several or even a dozen or so microorganisms, making a vaccine is very difficult, but not impossible. The material for the preparation must be collected in the right way and at the right time, e.g. before starting chemotherapy, at the initial stage of the disease or - in chronic conditions - at the time of exacerbation, when taking antibiotics.

Another necessary condition for an effective autovaccine is a properly qualified team of specialists with high-quality equipment. And often, unfortunately, the latter leaves much to be desired, and this is where the concerns about the effectiveness and safety of autovaccines in general arise.

Why are autovaccines controversial?

The effectiveness of an autovaccine is determined by many factors, incl. its composition, which is due to the precision of microbiological diagnostics, besides the form and time of its administration, aalso a properly selected antibiotic that is used together with the autovaccine. Many doctors are against this form of treatment because autovaccines are often imperfectly produced (laboratory level, type of equipment). For example, they may contain some impurities. Moreover, it is not always possible or very difficult to select the specific strain of germs that caused the infection from the smear taken from the patient. For example, to get the bacteria that causes inflammation of the inner ear, you would have to perforate the eardrum.

It is also worth adding that a vaccine based on killed forms of microorganisms will never be as effective as, for example, a vaccine containing attenuated (weakened) microorganisms, if only because the bacteria used here do not multiply in the body, and thus alone, they do not lead to an effective immune response.

Important

In many European Union countries and in the USA, the production of autovaccines is not allowed. In Poland, they are not reimbursed by the National He alth Fund (their cost is about PLN 300), and there is no register of possible side effects of autovaccines. It is a form of a medical experiment that must be approved by all interested parties, i.e. the patient or his / her legal guardian, doctor and bioethics committee.

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