Studies in Wales show vaccines associated with less dementia diagnosis suggest that vaccines related to banded vaccines

Scientists may have produced the strongest evidence that shingle vaccines are associated with reduced risk of dementia.

Using the health records of more than 280,000 elderly people in Wales, researchers found that in the next seven years, people who received shingles were 20% less likely to develop dementia, while those who did not received the vaccine were 20% less likely to develop dementia.

The findings, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, are based on other recent studies that show an increased risk of herpesvirus infection and dementia.

Lead author Pascal Geldseter, From Stanford University, the vaccine appears to be “much more protective” than the vaccines offered by existing dementia drugs, but further research is needed to determine whether the observed effects are truly causal.

“If the shingles vaccine does prevent or delay dementia, it will be a very important finding for clinical medicine, population health and research on the causes of dementia,” Geldsetzer said.

According to the researchers, there are two potential mechanisms that might explain how shingles vaccines reduce the risk of dementia, and they are It can even work at the same time.

First, vaccination reduces the reactivation of dormant Aquamarine viruses, which have been shown to cause long-term cognitive impairment and brain pathology similar to Alzheimer’s disease.

The varicella zoster virus is a type of herpes virus that causes varicella and can linger in the body for many years, and later reactivates to shingles.

“Increasing research shows that these viruses are prioritizing your nervous system and hibernate in the nervous system, which may be related to the development of dementia.”

The second possible mechanism is that vaccination triggers a wider immune response.

Tissa Wijeratne, a neurologist at RMIT University and Western Health, was not involved in the study, saying the study was a “landmark discovery” in preventing brain health and disease.

“It supports the emerging understanding that infections, especially viruses such as narcissus nerve plants, can lead to long-term nervous system decline.”

A “clever” natural experiment

Although other studies have examined the link between shingles vaccination and dementia risk, it has been difficult for researchers to disband the effects of vaccines with the effects of other variables such as diet and exercise, which can also affect dementia risk.

Randomized controlled trials are considered the gold standard for studying causality and can help eliminate these biases, but they are very expensive and resource-intensive, especially for such a long time.

To solve this problem, Geldsetzer and his colleagues Relying on a large “natural” experiment can help them answer this question in a similar way to the randomized controlled trial.

In 2013, Wales launched a shingles vaccine for the elderly. However, the quirks introduced mean that those 79-year-olds on September 1, 2013 are eligible for at least one year of vaccine, while those already 80 are not eligible for life.

“The difference in one week on this date of birth is just one week means you go from essentially no one gets vaccinated to about half of the population getting vaccinated,” Geldsetzer said.

Thanks to the national electronic health record, Researchers can Check out almost the entire population of Wales, born between September 1925 and September 1942, to see how vaccine status affects the risk of dementia.

They focused their analysis on those closest to the vaccine eligibility threshold, so they were as close to the same age as possible.

Those who received the shingles vaccine were 3.5% less likely to have dementia than those who were not vaccinated, and 20% less likely to have dementia.

“It’s a very amazing discovery,” Geldsetzer said.

The team also investigated the effects of other variables in both populations, such as education levels and rates for other common health conditions.

However, they can’t find any difference besides the vaccination status, which can explain the staggering decline in the diagnosis of dementia.

“This is a clever use of recording and linking data,” said Perminder Sachdev, a neuropsychiatrist in UNSW.

“This is an example of the power of electronic records nationwide and the fact that researchers link various health datasets.”

The researchers also used electronic health records and deaths from dementia data in England, and found similar results in the second population.

Research on vaccine benefits

Although the findings confirmed by further research, it is suggested that vaccination may be an effective tool for preventing or delaying dementia, they also raise several questions.

First, the study found that women have significantly higher risk of dementia than men.

This is not a unique discovery of this study. Other studies on the risk of shingles vaccination and dementia also found that women appear to benefit more from the vaccine than men.

“We know that vaccines have a stronger impact in women, and that the immunologic responses are different for both men and women,” Sachdev said.

“We need to know more, including [about] Generally speaking, gender differences in the pathogenesis of dementia. ”

Further research is needed to understand how vaccination may actually confer protection against dementia.

The research team specialized in live herpes shingles vaccine (called Zostavax), which is usually used at the time.

Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia currently All suggested a different vaccine using different technologies, called Shingrix, and was more effective in preventing shingles.

“For some time, there has been evidence that older people who are vaccinated are unlikely to develop dementia. This is the best evidence to prove this so far,” said co-director of UNSW Center for Healthy Brain Aging, who was not involved in the study.

“Future research will determine whether the newer inactive vaccine Shingrix will provide the same benefits and whether immunity at a young age is equally effective.”

A large U.S. study published last year found that Shingrix appears to reduce the risk of dementia more than Zostavax.

However, the researchers in the current study believe that the on-site nature of the Zostavax vaccine may have specific benefits in reducing the risk of dementia and hope to fund further clinical trials to investigate it.

While there is no reliable prevention for dementia, doctors also recommend other common sense steps to reduce risk. Maintain social and cognitive activities. And control hypertension. For diabetic patients, hyperglycemia is related to decreased cognitive ability.