I have not read anything about this before:
https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/03/17/do-viruses-trigger-alzheimers?utm_content=ed-picks-image-link-8&etear=nl_today_8&utm_campaign=r.the-economist-today&utm_medium=email.internal-newsletter.np&utm_source=salesforce-marketing-cloud&utm_term=3/19/2025&utm_id=2069495
I can’t get this to be a clickable link….ugh]
I hadn't heard of that either, but great if true!
The article was just a paragraph (at least what I saw) in length, and said that their research showed that the original shingles vaccine could prevent about 1/5 of the cases of dementia. The newer “recombinant” vaccine (not a live version) could confer even greater protection.
This general idea isn't new, see the Feb 2023 article on the nih.gov website at the 1st link below. Not to start a political battle, but I will note this work was done at the Center for Alzheimer's and Related Dementia's (CARD) group at NIH. The new administration has been working to reduce staffing at CARD. That topic is discussed at length in another discussion on this website. There is a typo in the title at the 2nd link below, it is the Blunt Alzheimer's Center, named after Roy Blunt, a Senator from Missouri.
A Reuters article at the 3rd link below provides a good overview from 2023 of various AD vaccines that are in the works.
This study published in nature states that recombinant vaccines offer good protection. The live vaccine is discontinued in the United States and many other countries.
Thanks for that @dancsfo
I got the vaccination just this last year so it must be the recombinant version.
I haven’t gotten it yet. My doctor told me several years ago that he didn’t recommend it. His daughter ( also a doctor) told me last year that he was probably referring to the original version. Does anyone know how long you might be ‘ less than 100% after it? Or do you feel fine afterwards?
A couple of my friends who got the vaccination (within the last couple of years) said that they felt bad for a couple of days afterwards. So, I was dreading getting it done …. But I finally did, and it wasn't that bad. You have to have two shots spaced a couple of months apart. After the first shot, I had one day where I felt low key. I spent the day inside reading and napping. The second shot was no big deal. I didn't lose any days.
I had a very mild case of shingles about 25 years ago, and my PCP recommended the vaccine to me when it first became available. I recall having no problem with the shots at all.
Shingles can be quite severe, and in rare cases even affects internal organs. I think the vaccine is well worth it. If it helps prevent dementia, that is a bonus.
Getting the shingles vaccine didn't prevent my mother's dementia. She had the live Zoster vaccine in 2007 and two Shingrix in 2018.
