Shingles News & Features

The FDA has approved a drug currently used for restless leg syndrome to treat a common and painful complication of shingles, according to the medication's manufacturers.

A new study offers up some encouraging news for people who have recently experienced a painful bout of shingles.

The shingles vaccine is “generally safe and well tolerated,” according to a study of nearly 200,000 patients.

Some people are at higher risk for shingles and postherpetic neuralgia than others. But used right, available treatments can prevent postherpetic neuralgia, or at least stop it from becoming a permanent, painful companion.

The FDA today approved Merck's Zostavax shingles vaccine for 50-somethings. The vaccine was already approved for people age 60 and older.

The herpes zoster vaccine, better known as the shingles vaccine and recommended for adults 60-plus, cuts the risk of getting the painful disease by 55%, new research finds.

The FDA has approved Qutenza for post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), lingering nerve pain after a shingles attack. The doctor-applied patches deliver synthetic capsaicin, the chemical that makes chili peppers hot.

People with shingles are more likely to suffer a recurrence than previously thought, especially if their attack is accompanied by lasting pain, researchers report.

Adults with shingles are at increased risk for stroke, especially if they have shingles that affects the eyes, a study shows.

A surgically implanted pump that delivers medication to the spinal fluid helps reduce the persistent pain that can linger in some patients after they recover from shingles, according to a new study.

A new study shows that people with shingles, or herpes zoster infection, are more than four times likely to have a first-degree relative with a history of the condition.

The CDC recommends that people aged 60 and older get a single dose of the shingles vaccine Zostavax.

There are 1.1 million shingles patients in the U.S., and almost all of them seek shingles treatment each year, new government statistics show.

Tai chi, a traditional Chinese martial art, may give older adults' immune system a boost.

The CDC's vaccine advisory panel today voted to make shingles vaccination routine for all Americans 60 and older.

It might be possible to use antiviral drugs to reduce shingles pain, researchers report.

Getting a spinal (epidural) shot of steroids and anesthetics is "not effective" at preventing long-term shingles pain, according to a study.

An FDA advisory panel backed the approval of the first shingles vaccine Thursday, though for a narrower group of patients than manufacturers had sought.

Radiation therapy can help wipe out the blistery rash and potentially debilitating pain of shingles, the researcher of a new study suggests.

A new study offers insights into what helps -- and what does not help -- relieve long-lasting shingles pain.

A new shingles vaccine markedly reduces the suffering caused by one of the most feared diseases of old age, a large study shows.

Morphine and other powerful, opiate-based pain medications may be a safe bet for treating shingles-related pain in elderly patients. A new study shows that the drugs can work just as well or even better than current therapies without dangerous side effects.

More research is needed, but doctors should warn patients, researchers say

The live-virus shingles vaccine may be safe for people with autoimmune conditions and for those taking immunity-suppressing drugs.

Once the unsightly, red blisters of shingles go away, the agony of the herpes zoster infection has only just begun for those patients who develop the excruciating complication called postherpetic neuralgia.