Shingles Vaccine Reduces Risk of Death Due to Dementia

SadaNews - A large study has shown that dementia patients who received the shingles vaccine were less likely to die from the disease than those who did not receive it, indicating that the vaccine may slow the progression of age-related illnesses.

Overall, nearly half of the 14,000 elderly individuals in Wales who suffered from dementia at the beginning of the vaccination program died during a 9-year follow-up.

However, researchers stated in the journal "Cell" that receiving the "Zostavax" vaccine produced by Merck reduced the risk of death due to dementia by approximately 30 percent.

Researchers in Wales earlier this year found that older adults who received the "Zostavax" vaccine were 20 percent less likely to develop dementia than their peers who did not receive the vaccine.

Study author Dr. Pascal Geldsetzer from Stanford University in California stated in a statement, "The most exciting part (of the recent findings) is that it truly suggests that the shingles vaccine not only has preventative benefits in delaying dementia but also has therapeutic potential for those who already suffer from the disease."

Researchers mentioned that it is still unknown whether the vaccine protects against dementia by broadly activating the immune system, by specifically reducing the reactivation of the herpes virus that causes shingles, or through another mechanism that remains unknown.

It is also unclear whether the latest shingles vaccine, "Shingrix" produced by GlaxoSmithKline, may be similarly or more effective in reducing the effects of dementia compared to the older vaccine that participants in the Wales studies received.

The protection from shingles with the Merck vaccine diminishes over time, and most countries no longer use the vaccine after it was found that the "Shingrix" vaccine is better.

Researchers noted that they have found similar results over the past two years in health records from other countries, including England, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

Geldsetzer added, "We continue to see this strong protective signal against dementia across dataset after dataset."