Have any questions about how to use the community? Check out the Help Discussion.

Possible AZ prevention from anti virals + shingles vaccine

terei
terei Member Posts: 758
Eighth Anniversary 250 Likes 500 Comments 100 Insightfuls Reactions
Member
in I Am a Caregiver (General Topics)

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

Comments

  • terei
    terei Member Posts: 758
    Eighth Anniversary 250 Likes 500 Comments 100 Insightfuls Reactions
    Member
    https://alzconnected.org/discussion/72581/possible-az-prevention-from-anti-virals-shingles-vaccine
  • terei
    terei Member Posts: 758
    Eighth Anniversary 250 Likes 500 Comments 100 Insightfuls Reactions
    Member

    I can’t get this to be a clickable link….ugh]

  • GothicGremlin
    GothicGremlin Member Posts: 1,280
    Sixth Anniversary 1000 Comments 250 Likes 250 Care Reactions
    Member

    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.

  • LBC83
    LBC83 Member Posts: 166
    100 Likes 100 Comments 25 Insightfuls Reactions 5 Care Reactions
    Member
    edited March 19
    https://alzconnected.org/discussion/72581/possible-az-prevention-from-anti-virals-shingles-vaccine

    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.

    https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/links-found-between-viruses-neurodegenerative-diseases

    https://alzconnected.org/discussion/72438/follow-up-on-blount-alzheimer-s-center-cuts

    https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/researchers-return-alzheimers-vaccines-buoyed-by-recent-drug-success-2023-11-20/

  • dancsfo
    dancsfo Member Posts: 328
    100 Comments Second Anniversary 25 Care Reactions 25 Insightfuls Reactions
    Member
    https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/238867#Comment_238867

    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.

    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03201-5

  • GothicGremlin
    GothicGremlin Member Posts: 1,280
    Sixth Anniversary 1000 Comments 250 Likes 250 Care Reactions
    Member

    Thanks for that @dancsfo

    I got the vaccination just this last year so it must be the recombinant version.

  • Quilting brings calm
    Quilting brings calm Member Posts: 2,980
    1,000 Likes 2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 500 Insightfuls Reactions
    Member

    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?

  • GothicGremlin
    GothicGremlin Member Posts: 1,280
    Sixth Anniversary 1000 Comments 250 Likes 250 Care Reactions
    Member

    @Quilting brings calm

    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.

  • Carl46
    Carl46 Member Posts: 1,274
    1000 Comments 500 Likes 250 Insightfuls Reactions 250 Care Reactions
    Member
    edited March 20

    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.

  • SiberianIris
    SiberianIris Member Posts: 72
    Second Anniversary 25 Insightfuls Reactions 25 Care Reactions 25 Likes
    Member

    Getting the shingles vaccine didn't prevent my mother's dementia. She had the live Zoster vaccine in 2007 and two Shingrix in 2018.

  • PhoenixGeeg
    PhoenixGeeg Member Posts: 3
    5 Likes First Comment
    Member
    I'm very hesitant to believe that the shingles vaccine prevents Alzheimer's. First, I haven't found a study on it, only articles, and second, that's really hard to track. You're talking about people who are all completely different, and saying that changing one thing in their lives directly leads to a specific result. I mean, they have enough trouble proving the meds for Alzheimer's they have now. My mom has Alzheimer's and I research every med offered to her...and the success rates are pretty low. I'd take this shingles thing with a large piece of salt.
  • Sunfish47
    Sunfish47 Member Posts: 26
    25 Likes 10 Comments 5 Care Reactions
    Member

    Idk if the current shingles vaccine will guard against dementia but I sure as heck don’t want shingles after observing the pain my DH went thru a few years ago. So I got the shingles vaccine earlier this year. Pretty sore arm for a few days after each dose, but nothing compared to the nerve pain of shingles.

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
Read more

Community Guidelines


Click here to review the ALZConnected Community Guidelines

Categories