admin Could a vaccine help prevent dementia? New research suggests it might already exist. The same jab that protects against painful shingles may also safeguard the ageing brain.
A recent study found that older adults who received the shingles vaccine had a 20% lower risk of developing dementia over the next seven years. The research, published in Nature on Wednesday, adds to growing evidence that multiple factors influence brain health – and that some may be within our control.
“It’s a very robust finding,” said lead researcher Dr Pascal Geldsetzer from Stanford University. Interestingly, the study found that women appeared to benefit more from the vaccine, which is significant as they face a higher risk of dementia.
The study focused on individuals in Wales who received the world’s first shingles vaccine over a decade ago when they were around 80 years old. Today, those aged 50 and over in the United States are encouraged to get a newer, more effective version of the vaccine.
The findings offer yet another compelling reason to get vaccinated, said Dr Maria Nagel from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, who specialises in viruses that invade the nervous system.
“This virus is a risk for dementia, and now we have an intervention that can decrease that risk,” Nagel explained.
With Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia on the rise as populations age, the implications of this research are profound, according to Dr Anupam Jena, a Harvard physician and health economist, who commented on the study in Nature.
What is shingles?
Shingles occurs in people who have previously had chickenpox – which includes nearly everyone born before 1980. The virus remains dormant in the nerves and can reactivate later in life when the immune system weakens due to illness or ageing. It causes painful, blister-like sores, typically appearing on one side of the body and lasting for weeks.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around one in three Americans will develop shingles. While most recover, some suffer severe complications. If the virus spreads to the eye, it can lead to vision loss, and up to 20% of sufferers experience nerve pain that persists for months or even years after the rash fades.
What’s the link between shingles and dementia?
The exact causes of Alzheimer’s and other dementias remain unclear, but certain viruses that infiltrate the nervous system – particularly those from the herpes family, including the chickenpox virus – have long been suspected of playing a role.
Last summer, doctors at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital reported that a shingles outbreak could increase dementia risk by about 20%. The virus is known to cause inflammation, which is harmful to organs, including the brain. It can also infect blood vessels in the brain, leading to clots and restricted blood flow – both of which heighten the risk of strokes and dementia.
More intriguingly, Nagel’s research has found that the shingles virus can trigger the formation of amyloid, a sticky protein that is a key characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.
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