While life-saving vaccines face relentless attack from the Trump administration — with zealous anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leading the charge — the scientific literature is building a wonderful story: A vaccine appears to prevent dementia, including Alzheimer’s, and may even slow biological aging.
Over the years, study after study has found that older adults vaccinated against shingles have a lower risk of dementia. A study last month suggested the same vaccine slows biological aging, including by reducing markers of inflammation.
“Our study adds to a growing body of work suggesting that vaccines may play a role in healthy aging strategies beyond preventing severe disease altogether,” said study author Eileen Crimmins of the University of Southern California.
Another study this month suggests the past may also have positive findings against dementia. underestimates With the ability to be vaccinated, a new vaccine against shingles offers even greater protection.
Shingles
If dementia protection is real, it’s a temporary thing. The vaccine was designed to have a completely unrelated function – preventing the varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox (varicella) from reactivating and causing a painful rash.
Anyone who suffers from scabies in childhood carries the virus with them throughout their lives, lying dormant primarily in their nerve cells. But, if it awakens, it causes a painful, itchy rash – also called ringworm (ringworm). The rash develops into fluid-filled blisters and scabs, which persist for several days to several weeks. For some people, this can be extremely painful, and the pain may persist for months or years after the rash has healed. If it occurs near the eye, it can cause permanent vision damage; Near the ear, it can cause permanent hearing and balance problems.
Shingles is thought to arise due to a defect in the immune response that keeps the latent virus under control, often due to age-related decline. This is where a vaccine comes in. The first was Zostavax, released by Merck in 2006, which delivers a large dose of a live, but weakened, version of the varicella-zoster virus. This triggers the immune system to mount a defense to prevent the virus from reproducing. Studies found that the vaccine reduced the risk of shingles by 51 percent.
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