Rodent feces and remains were found in multiple outbuildings
Alzheimer’s disease is on the rise. While there is a great deal of research pertaining to what causal factors contribute to its development (amyloid plaques, genetic conditions that guarantee the disease, environmental and lifestyle factors, etc.), there is also a lot of research being conducted to identify a cure. Now, a new study regarding the use of an unrelated vaccine may bring us closer to this direction.
Curious to know more? Click through now.
A popular theory pertaining to the development of Alzheimer’s disease, the precursor to dementia, factors the cause of the buildup of amyloid plaques.
Amyloid plaques are sticky clumps that build up in the brain, essentially blocking communication between brain cells. These clumps cause the brain cells to die.
Among a number of theories pertaining to amyloid plaque buildup, a new study offers another explanation, tying certain viruses to the development of dementia.
The positive aspect to this study's conclusion is that the virus in question already has a vaccine that is not only in use, but is also proven to be effective.
According to a recent study, older adults who received the shingles vaccine were over 20% less likely to develop dementia.
Shingles is a viral infection that typically causes an itchy, painful rash, often accompanied by blisters (pictured). The infection is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which also causes chickenpox.
A senior researcher that conducted the study, hosted by Stanford Medicine, said the evidence was quite jarring and surprising to researchers.
So what is it about the varicella-zoster virus? How does it relate to dementia? And how can the shingles vaccine prevent the development of another disease?
Varicella-zoster is the virus behind shingles and chickenpox. Most of us contract chickenpox in our youth.
After you contract chickenpox, the virus doesn’t just go away. It stays dormant in the body for the rest of your life. That is, unless it reactivates.
When varicella-zoster reactivates, it doesn’t come back as chickenpox, but rather emerges anew, as shingles.
Contracting shingles isn’t rare by any means. About one-third of adults develop shingles when they’re older or if they have a weak immune system.
Shingles itself is not deadly, but can cause other complications. Given the high risk of older adults developing the condition, the shingles vaccine is quite effective in preventing the emergence of the disease.
Over time, the vaccine does become less and less effective, but research shows that even after seven years following a single shingles vaccination the risk of developing the condition decreased by nearly 40% for recipients.
So what's the tie between cognitive decline, developing shingles, the shingles vaccine, and dementia? Here's where the newest study comes in.
Researchers have long considered that there was a tie between shingles and dementia, but now a new study that came up through semi-accidental means can back it up.
A 2024 study found that just having shingles once can increase the risk of developing cognitive decline by around 20%, a significant percentage.
Other previous studies had argued that the shingles vaccine offered a lowered risk of developing dementia by around 20%, an incredible feat in the battle against disease-driven cognitive decline.
Previous studies were a bit controversial, as they argued that those who received the vaccine were also overall healthier, or at least more health conscious. Therefore, vaccine recipients already had a reduced risk of developing dementia.
Then came the 2013 shingles vaccine shortage, which forced distributors to ration the supply and, ultimately, gave researchers the kind of mass data they needed to prove the link between shingles and dementia.
Due to the shortage, Wales only offered the shingles vaccine to those 79 years old. The next year, the vaccine would be offered to those 78, and so on and so forth.
Those older than 79 weren’t deemed eligible to receive the vaccine. This was the opportunity that scientists needed to reach some conclusions.
Scientists spent more than seven years looking at the dementia rates of those aged 80 just before the ration was instituted, corresponding to the age group deemed ineligible to receive the vaccine. Scientists compared those rates to the group that was vaccinated and had turned 80 following the year of vaccine distribution.
Over 280,000 adults were included in the study. Of those ineligible to receive the shingles vaccine, one in eight developed dementia.
Of those who received the vaccine, dementia rates were 20% lower. There were no significant lifestyle or health conditions that differentiated the two groups.
Scientists argue that the shingles vaccine likely promotes a larger immune response and stops the dormant virus from becoming activated. This means that the vaccine not only lowers the risk of developing shingles, but also of developing dementia.
The study also showed that the effects of the vaccine in providing protection against dementia was even stronger in women than in men, as women had a higher antibody response.
This observation also offered questions on the differences in disease development between men and women more generally, as it may be triggered by different factors.
Researchers plan to conduct a much larger clinical trial in the coming years to further explore how the vaccine and dementia are linked.
Sources: (Mayo Clinic) (Yahoo) (The Guardian) (Stanford Medicine) (Nature) (ScienceAlert)
See also: Does air pollution cause dementia?
An unrelated vaccine can significantly lower the risk of developing dementia
The shingles vaccine could change how we treat dementia
HEALTH Shingles
Alzheimer’s disease is on the rise. While there is a great deal of research pertaining to what causal factors contribute to its development (amyloid plaques, genetic conditions that guarantee the disease, environmental and lifestyle factors, etc.), there is also a lot of research being conducted to identify a cure. Now, a new study regarding the use of an unrelated vaccine may bring us closer to this direction.
Curious to know more? Click through now.