Positive effect of measles citations
[back] Measles  [back] Positive effect of childhood diseases

These results are supported from an older study which found more allergies in vaccinated kids than in vaccine-free kids. (Lewis 1998)

 neurodermatitis. (Kesselring 1990)

Bonjean M, Prime A. Suspensive effect of measles on psoriasic erythroderma of 12 years' duration Lyon Med. 1969 Nov 9;222(40):839. PMID: 4245855 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Chakravarti VS, Lingam S.  Measles induced remission of psoriasis. Ann Trop Paediatr. 1986 Dec;6(4):293-4.
A 6-year-old girl suffering from severe psoriasis had been treated unsuccessfully by various conventional methods. She developed measles and, on recovery from measles, the psoriasis soon cleared up and now, 6 months later, she still has had no further recurrence. The basic defect in psoriasis, basal cell hyperplasia and defective keratinization, may well be immunologically mediated. Measles virus, by its immunosuppressive effect can lead to remission of psoriasis.
PMID: 2435240 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

FOMIN KF. Cure of psoriasis after co-existing measles. Vestn Dermatol Venerol. 1961 Jun;35:66-8. Links [Article in Russian]

[Kids who had measles definitely suffer from fewer allergies.]
Kucukosmanoglu E, Cetinkaya F, Akcay F, Pekun F  Frequency of allergic diseases following measles.  Allergol Immunopathol (Madr). 2006 Jul-Aug;34(4):146-9. Links. Department of Pediatrics, Medical Faculty, Gaziantep University Istanbul, Turkey. ercankosmanoglu@yahoo.com
OBJECTIVE: Viral and bacterial infections in childhood decrease the likelihood of allergic diseases in later life. The frequency of allergic diseases in patients with a history of measles has been reported to be low but some studies still suggest that measles can increase the frequency of allergic diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of allergic diseases following measles in childhood. METHODS: Fifty-two children hospitalized in our clinic with measles were compared with 51 children without measles. Allergic diseases were investigated in both groups by using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. In all children, allergy skin tests were performed with the four most common allergens. RESULTS: Sensitivity to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus was less frequent in children with measles than in those without (p < 0.05). A history of nebulized salbutamol use in the emergency room in the previous 12 months was also less frequent in the measles group (p < 0.05). Inhaled corticosteroid use was more common in the group without measles (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that findings of allergic disease are less frequent in children with a history of measles. These children were less sensitive to D. pteronyssinus. PMID: 16854347 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

Lepore L, Agosti E, Pennesi M, Barbi E, De Manzini A.  Long-term remission induced by measles infection and followed by immunosuppressive therapy in a case of refractory juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.  Pediatr Med Chir. 1988 Mar-Apr;10(2):191-3. [Article in Italian]
A case of severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, polyarticular type, refractory to FANS and long acting therapy which showed a quick remission after measles is described. An immunosuppressive therapy to strengthen the immunosuppression induced by virus infection was performed for six months. The remission has been maintained for 4 years and appears up to now to be stable with no therapy. On the basis of this observation, the possibility of a vaccination therapy with measles virus, which equally gives immunosuppression, is discussed. PMID: 3174483 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

LINTAS N. Case of psoriasis cured after intercurrent measles.  Minerva Dermatol. 1959 Apr;34(4):296-7. [Article in Italian] PMID: 13656632 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[In third world countries measles reduces the risk of parasites and malaria.]
Rooth IB, Bjorkman A. Suppression of Plasmodium falciparum infections during concomitant measles or influenza but not during pertussis. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1992 Nov;47(5):675-81 Department of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge Hospital, Sweden.
In tropical countries, concomitant infections are a continuous problem. In the Rufiji Delta, an area of Tanzania that is holoendemic for malaria, there were outbreaks of influenza A, measles, and pertussis in 1986 and 1987. Significantly lower parasitic prevalences and mean densities of malaria parasites were found in children up to nine years of age who had measles or influenza than in asymptomatic control children. In contrast, children with pertussis had a higher prevalence and mean density than controls. The clinical courses of measles, influenza, or pertussis infections did not appear to be significantly affected by concomitant malaria infections. The reasons for the suppression of Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia during these viral infections are unclear. This effect could not be explained by the presence of fever. PMID: 1449208 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Rønne, T., "Measles virus infection without rash in childhood is related to disease in adult life," Lancet, Jan. 1985; pages 1-5.
Persons who have never had any visible indication of measles, i.e., never developed the skin rash of measles, suffer more frequently from non measles associated diseases." "The data show a highly significant correlation between lack of measles exanthema and auto-immune diseases, seborrhoeic skin diseases, degenerative diseases of the bones and certain tumors . . . We think that the rash is caused by a cell mitigated immune reaction, which destroys the cells infected with the measles virus. If this is correct, the missing exanthema may indicate that intracellular virus components have escaped neutralization during the acute infection. This may later lead to the aforementioned diseases... The presence of specific antibodies at the time of infection interferes with the normal immune response against the measles virus, in particular with the development of the specific cell mitigated immunity (and/or cyto-toxic reactions). The intracellular measles virus can then survive the acute infection and cause diseases manifesting in the adult age.

Shaheen SO, Aaby P, Hall AJ, Barker DJ, Heyes CB, Shiell AW, Goudiaby A. Measles and atopy in Guinea-Bissau.  Lancet. 1996 Jun 29;347(9018):1792-6. Medical Research Council Environmental Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southhampton General Hospital, UK.
BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies have led to speculation that infections in early childhood may prevent allergic sensitisation but evidence to support this hypothesis is lacking. We investigated whether measles infection protects against the development of atopy in children of Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. METHODS: We conducted a historical cohort study in Bandim, a semi-rural district of Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau. 395 young adults, first surveyed in 1978-80 aged 0-6 years, were followed up in 1994. Our analyses were restricted to 262 individuals still living in Bandim for whom a measles history, documented in childhood, was judged to be reliable. We defined atopy as skin-prick test positivity (> or = 3 mm weal) to one or more of seven allergens. FINDINGS: 17 (12.8 percent) of 133 participants who had had measles infection were atopic compared with 33 (25.6 percent) of 129 of those who had been vaccinated and not had measles (odds ratio, adjusted for potential confounding variables 0.36 [95 percent CI 0.17-0.78], p=O.O1). Participants who had been breastfed for more than a year were less likely to have a positive skin test to housedust mite. After adjustment for breastfeeding and other variables, measles infection was associated with a large reduction in the risk of skin-prick test positivity to housedust mite (odds ratio for Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus 0.20 [0.05-0.81], p=0.02; D farinae 0.20 [0.06-0.71], p=0.01). INTERPRETATION: Measles infection may prevent the development of atopy in African children. PMID: 8667923 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Simpanen E, van Essen R, Isomäki H.  Remission of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (Still's disease) after measles.  Lancet. 1977 Nov 5;2(8045):987-8. Links PMID: 72339 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Thiers H, Normand J, Fayolle J.  Suspensive effect of measles on chronic psoriasis in children: 2 cases.  Lyon Med. 1969 Nov 9;222(40):839-40. Links PMID: 5383408 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Wahn U. The immunology of fetuses and infants: What drives the allergic march? Allergy 55 (7), 591-599 (2000)
Recovery from natural measles infection reduces the incidence of atopy and allergic responses to house-dust mites to half that seen in vaccinated children.

Hitoshi Yamamoto, et al. Spontaneous improvement of intractable epileptic seizures following acute viral infections.  Brain and Development
Volume 26, Issue 6, September 2004, Pages 377-379
In general, epileptic seizures become more serious following infections. However, transient and permanent improvement of epileptic seizures has been observed following acute viral infections, without a recent change in anti-epileptic therapy. Questionnaires were sent to 73 institutions, throughout Japan, where pediatric neurologists care for children with epilepsy to characterize this phenomenon through clinician survey. Completed surveys were received from 11 institutions, and 21 cases were selected for the study. The age of the patients were 6 months to 17 years. The West syndrome or epilepsy subsequent to West syndrome cases were 16 out of 21. Two cases of symptomatic generalized epilepsy and one case each of symptomatic partial epilepsy, continuous spike-waves of slow sleep and severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy were also reported. These seizures disappeared within 2 weeks subsequent to viral infections such as, exanthema subitum, rotavirus colitis, measles and mumps. The disappearance of intractable epileptic seizures following acute viral infections might be related to the inflammatory processes or the increased levels of antibodies after viral infections.

Yoshioka K, Miyata H, Maki S. Transient remission of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis after measles.  Acta Paediatr Scand. 1981;70(3):419-20.
A 4-year-old Japanese girl with systemic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis had an attack of measles. On the day following the first signs of measles she became afebrile and free of joint pain even though aspirin therapy was discontinued. The remission lasted for 10 days. It appears that the measles virus infection may have been responsible for the brief remission in this patient. The observation of a remission of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis after measles is extremely rare. PMID: 7246137 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]