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The shingles vaccine may reduce the risk of dementia

economist.com

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Re: The shingles vaccine may reduce the risk of dementia

#81

Post by sarchertech »

hereme888 wrote: post #69
alfiedotwtf wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> like the more colds you have in life Whoa wait what? This is the first time I’ve heard of this - is this actually common knowledge?

Not common knowledge, but should be in this day and age. For example, someone who worked in daycare and often got sick with the flu or similar, has a higher risk of dementia (statistically-speaking). When I learned it, it was in the context of the influenza and similar common viruses. It's actually more nuanced than that. If you want to read more: https://www.openevidence.com/ask/bccc3cc2-e15d-4fb0-a0c5-16f...

As far as I know you're overstating what is known.

There was a study that showed that people who had severe influenza (they were hospitalized) were 3 times more likely to develop dementia. And there are mouse models that show that frequency respiratory virus infections can increase may contribute to brain aging (in mice).

>someone who worked in daycare and often got sick with the flu or similar, has a higher risk of dementia (statistically-speaking).

I can't find any evidence of this being true. I can find evidence that primary school teachers have lower rates of dementia. Pediatricians also have lower rates of dementia, so I find this highly doubtful.

Re: The shingles vaccine may reduce the risk of dementia

#82

Post by bitwize »

dymk wrote: post #46
antaviana wrote: post #42

So if you had shingles in your youth then you are better protected against dementia?

The article says that one possible reason the vaccine protects against dementia is incidental protection from other diseases. Getting chickenpox as a kid might protect you against shingles, but maybe not against those other diseases.

Getting chicken pox as a kid means you already have the H. zoster virus in your system, and when you get older as your immune system weakens, it may come out for a second go around, manifesting as shingles. Having had chicken pox as a kid is one of the reasons why I got my Shingrix as soon as I was able.

Re: The shingles vaccine may reduce the risk of dementia

#83

Post by js2 »

robot_jesus wrote: post #5

I'm in my 40s with genetic predisposition for Alzheimer's. Been seriously considering the past year or two paying out of pocket for Shingrix. I think it would be ~$500 total for two doses. Sure, I could wait 7 or 8 years until I qualify via insurance, but is that really worth the risk for what is an easily absorbed cost to me? Especially when I have a friend in her late 30s who just went through a very rough bout of…

On the topic of vaccines, if you were vaccinated against measles before it switched to the two-dose schedule (1989 in the US), you might want to have your titers measured.

I was vaccinated in the early 70s when it was a single dose. With measles in the news recently, I asked my doc to add a measles antibodies test to my blood draw. Came back negative. No immunity. I went to the local pharmacy and got an MMR booster the next day.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/some-...

Re: The shingles vaccine may reduce the risk of dementia

#84

Post by bink »

tptacek wrote: post #24
robot_jesus wrote: post #5

I'm in my 40s with genetic predisposition for Alzheimer's. Been seriously considering the past year or two paying out of pocket for Shingrix. I think it would be ~$500 total for two doses. Sure, I could wait 7 or 8 years until I qualify via insurance, but is that really worth the risk for what is an easily absorbed cost to me? Especially when I have a friend in her late 30s who just went through a very rough bout of…

Wait, you can just pay for the shingles vaccine, before you're 50? Where do I do that? I had shingles in my 30s. It was the sickest I've ever been.

Not exactly. My doctor wanted to start me on a medicine that would make me more likely to develop shingles so he asked me to get the vaccine series before he'd prescribe the medicine. I guess there's no such thing as a prescription for a vaccine, so I just went to my local pharmacy. I made the mistake of writing on the form that I had no health issues. The pharmacist came out and said because I wasn't 50 and had no health issues they weren't allowed to administer the vaccine. Even after I explained my condition and the doctor's request they still refused. They wouldn't even let me fill out a new form. I had to go to a different pharmacy which conveniently didn't ask about my current health status.

It's stupid too, because the question I answered "wrong" wasn't clear. It basically sounded like they were asking me if I currently had a cold or covid.

Re: The shingles vaccine may reduce the risk of dementia

#86

Post by jagged-chisel »

tptacek wrote: post #48
antaviana wrote: post #42

So if you had shingles in your youth then you are better protected against dementia?

No, the opposite. If you've had shingles before, you're more likely to get it again later, not less.

They asked about dimentia

Re: The shingles vaccine may reduce the risk of dementia

#87

Post by cubefox »

> Most of the evidence of its anti-dementia effect relates to an earlier version of the vaccine, which used a weakened form of the live virus. It has since been largely replaced by a new one, Shingrix, which contains just a sprinkling of proteins from the virus and is seen as safer because it cannot cause an infection.

Unfortunately the apparent anti-dementia effect of this old vaccine (Zostavax) recently turned out to be a statistical illusion: https://youtube.com/watch?v=qlTnnQytOJ0

It is not clear whether the effect from Shingrix (the new one) is real or not. We currently don't have a case-control study which could prove causation.

Re: The shingles vaccine may reduce the risk of dementia

#88

Post by kaikai »

tptacek wrote: post #24
robot_jesus wrote: post #5

I'm in my 40s with genetic predisposition for Alzheimer's. Been seriously considering the past year or two paying out of pocket for Shingrix. I think it would be ~$500 total for two doses. Sure, I could wait 7 or 8 years until I qualify via insurance, but is that really worth the risk for what is an easily absorbed cost to me? Especially when I have a friend in her late 30s who just went through a very rough bout of…

Wait, you can just pay for the shingles vaccine, before you're 50? Where do I do that? I had shingles in my 30s. It was the sickest I've ever been.

You can just ask for vaccines at the pharmacy. I got a potentially missed childhood vaccination as an adult and they asked a few questions about why I wanted it, but were happy to give it to me. If it’s something odd you might need to go to a travel clinic.

Re: The shingles vaccine may reduce the risk of dementia

#89

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

I had the vaccine, last year (but I’m 64).

Hoowee, it made me sick, but only for a day (twice, as you get a booster, six months later).

Had chickenpox (and measles, at the same time), when I was a kid. That was fun.

My mother used to get recurring bouts of the shingles. Definitely not fun.

Re: The shingles vaccine may reduce the risk of dementia

#90

Post by jimbob45 »

anonym29 wrote: post #26
andy99 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read before that iirc because of waning protection it’s better not to get it too early. It’s not clear to me why you can’t get it twice, but what I read (and it was some online discussion so could be wrong) was that someone had been specifically told by their doctor to wait to 50 as the best spot to get it. I’d like to know more, I’m in my 40s and would be happy to get it now too but not if it was going to be worse…

The antibodies you develop to fight the virus fade over time. I just had it fairly recently (young 30s, vaccinated with the attenuated chickenpox virus, never had chickenpox, so this was likely the vaccine strain¹). Did a lot of reading and research during and after. The antibodies seem to offer good protection for 5-10 years following either vaccination or infection according to the literature I was reading. ¹ The v…

You had Shingles after never having chicken pox except the vaccine?
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