Post Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Vaccination Narcolepsy with Cataplexy.

STUDY

OBJECTIVES

Narcolepsy with cataplexy (NC) is a chronic neurological disorder thought to result from an altered immune response based on a genetic predisposition coupled with environmental factors. Pandemrix vaccination has been reported to increase the risk of narcolepsy. We aimed at identifying other vaccines associated with the onset of narcolepsy.

METHODS

Case series and retrospective database study.

RESULTS

We identified four cases of NC following a tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) vaccination with FSME Immun. Additional four cases could be detected in the database of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines in Germany.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings implicate TBE vaccination as a potential additional environmental factor for the development of NC and add additional evidence for an immunological mechanism in the pathogenesis of the disease.