A new study has found that the shingles vaccine reduces the risk of dementia by 20% over a seven-year period in older adults.
Published in the journal Nature, the new study sheds light on how various factors can influence brain aging.
Dr. Pascal Geldsetzer, the study’s lead researcher, called the findings “very robust” and noted that women seem to benefit the most, as they have a higher risk of developing dementia compared to men.
The study tracked older adults in Wales who received the older shingles vaccine over a ten years ago when they were around 80 years old.
In total, they analyzed over 280,000 medical records and the result was that the shingles vaccination provided some protection against dementia.
At the time, people received Zostavax, a first-generation vaccine. Today, a newer vaccine with higher efficacy is available.
Dr. Maria Nagel, an expert on viruses and the nervous system, said the findings provide another compelling reason to get the shingles vaccine, as the virus appears to be a dementia risk factor.
Dr. Anupam Jena, a Harvard physician and health economist, said the implications from the new study are “profound” as Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia are on the rise among older adults.
What Is Shingles?
Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash to develop on the body and is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox.
The virus typically remains inactive in the nerves until the immune system weakens from age or illness, during which it will emerge, causing painful sores to develop on one side of the body.
According to the CDC, approximately one in three people will get shingles.
While most people will recover without any long-lasting issues, it can sometimes cause severe complications including vision loss. Some people may also develop excrucitiating nerve pain that lasts for years after the rash has gone.
While the exact cause of dementia remains unclear, it’s no secret that certain viruses—like the shingles virus—can invade the nervous system, increasing a person’s risk of developing dementia.
According to Dr. Nagel, this is largely due to inflammation, which has a significant impact on the brain and other organs. The virus can also infect blood vessels in the brain and restrict blood flow, both of which are linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
Nagel and her team also discovered that the shingles virus can trigger the formation of amyloid, a protein that’s associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
