Sat Jan 6, 2:00 PM General
NIJMEGEN – The most used vaccine in the world is the BCG vaccine against the tuberculosis disease. This vaccine appears to protect not only against tuberculosis, but also against many other infections.
Fathers who have received this vaccine have children who appear to have better defenses against infections. Researchers from Radboudumc in Nijmegen want to know how this is possible and how fathers can pass on their immune properties to the next generation. “With this knowledge we can better protect people against infectious diseases,” says researcher Elisabeth Dulfer.
The researchers are looking for healthy men (18-25 years old) who will not smoke or use drugs for 6 months during the study. Participants will receive 300 euros for their participation in this study. They come to Radboud university medical center five times to have blood drawn and collect sperm at home three times. The results, including those of the sperm quality control, are shared with the participants. The study compares the effects of a BCG vaccine in group 1 with the effects of a dummy vaccine in the men of group 2.
Elisabeth Dulfer: “Some vaccines do not only protect against the infections for which they were developed, such as the corona or flu virus. We have discovered that some vaccines protect against more types of diseases: children die less often from viruses, but also less often from other causes. We call these non-specific effects and we see them in children who have been vaccinated against tuberculosis with the BCG vaccine. Children who have not been vaccinated, but who have fathers who have had the BCG vaccine, also appear to be extra protected.”
Knowing more? Send an email to nextstudy.aig@radboudumc.nl or go to www.radboudumc.nl/lopende-onderzoeken/next.
2024-01-06 13:00:00
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