A Dementia Vaccine May Be Possible, and Some Individuals Might Have Already Received It Unwittingly

A recent investigation by Stanford University in the US suggests that the shingles vaccine may decrease the risk of dementia by 20 percent or slow its progression after diagnosis.

If these results are validated in future research, there is already a vaccine available that could help in preventing and managing dementia, affecting an estimated 57 million individuals globally.

In a study published in Nature, scientists reviewed the health data of over 280,000 adults aged 71 to 88 in Wales to assess the shingles vaccination program initiated in 2013.

The research revealed that older adults (ages 79 to 80) who had received the shingles vaccine were 20 percent less likely to develop dementia by 2020 when compared to those who were ineligible for the vaccine.

The senior author, Dr. Pascal Gerdsetzer, an assistant professor of medicine at Stanford University, described the findings as “really surprising,” adding that there was a significant protective signal evident from the data.

Furthermore, a recent follow-up study published in Cell indicated that the shingles vaccine seemed to offer protection even to individuals diagnosed with dementia as early as 2013.

Among the 7,049 Welsh adults with dementia who participated in the research, nearly half succumbed within the subsequent nine years. In contrast, only 30% of those vaccinated against shingles passed away.

“What’s particularly intriguing is that this suggests the shingles vaccine not only prevents or delays dementia but also holds therapeutic promise for those already diagnosed,” Gerdsetzer noted.

Previous research had indicated a potential connection between the shingles vaccine and dementia prevention, but these findings were often confounded by the fact that vaccinated individuals typically lead healthier lifestyles (implying that the dementia protection might originate from other factors).

However, in this particular study, bias was minimized as the vaccination program specifically targeted individuals who were 79 years old on September 1, 2013.

“We know that if you take 1,000 random individuals born within a week of each other and compare them to 1,000 individuals born a week later, on average, there should be no differences,” Gertsetzer explained. “Aside from the slight age variation, they are essentially alike.”

Essentially, the researchers could directly analyze two groups born just a week apart and with an identical mix of health-conscious individuals. The primary difference was their eligibility for the vaccine, streamlining the assessment of the vaccine’s efficacy against dementia.

Shingles is an infection caused by the Varicella zoster virus—the same agent responsible for chickenpox. Symptoms can include a painful rash, a burning or prickling sensation, headaches, fever, and fatigue.

While the virus impacts the nervous system, scientists are still unclear about the exact mechanisms through which the shingles vaccine protects the brain from cognitive decline.

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