Studies connect the shingles vaccine to a better brain, heart health

A pair of recent studies revealed that the zona vaccine can protect itself against more than shingles – this can reduce the Risk of dementia and heart issues too.

A study, published in Jama On April 23, noted that the older Australians who were eligible for a LIVE attenuated shingles vaccine (called Zostavax) had a 1.8% risk of dementia diagnosis Compared to their peers who were not eligible for free shooting.

Then, research published in the European Heart Journal At the beginning of May, noted that the South Korean adults who received the Zostavax shot had a 23% risk overall lower than major cardiovascular events (including heart attack and heart failure, among other questions).

The reason why, in both cases, could be due to the ability of the zona vaccine inflammation This would otherwise accompany an infection, explained experts.

“Vaccines can have effects on the immune system which is wider than simply provoking the specific response of antibodies for which they have been designed,” said Pascal Geldsetzer, MD, PHD, MPH, deputy Primary Care Professor and Population Health at the University of Stanford. “Larger immunological effects can have advantages for other diseases.”

The zona is the common name of a viral infection called Herpes Zoster. People get the zona when the chica-zona virus (VZV) or reactive chickenpox in their body later in life. It generally manifests itself as a painful rash or which itchs around the right or left side of the body.

In the United States, Cotons-Poule fell 97% since the introduction of the chickenpox vaccine in 1995. However, for those who contracted the VZV, the virus persists in the body and “remains sleeping in our nerves for the rest of our lives”, Richard Martinello, MD, professor of infectious diseases and pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine, said Health.

It is not completely clear why VZV “Reawakens” in the body of some people, although stress seems to be a common catalyst.

The zona is also more commonly seen in:

For this reason, the zona vaccine is recommended for all adults over 50, as well as younger adults immunocompromised, to prevent the disease.

Above all, centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that people get the Shingrix vaccine, which is different from the Zostavax vaccine, used in both recent studies. The use of Zostavax was interrupted in the United States in 2020, as the effectiveness of the vaccine has proven to have decreased considerably during the years after people have obtained the shot.

The researchers studied Zostavax because Shingrix had not yet been approved or made available to patients in Australia and South Korea during the pursuit of research.

April Jama The study included electronic health data of more than 101,000 people living in Australia. Participants were about 63 years on average and were followed for 7.4 years.

In November 2016, Australia rendered zostavax drawn freely available for people born after November 2, 1936. This meant that researchers could follow participants close to the age who were both eligible and ineligible for the vaccine to see if their incidence of dementia was different.

The results showed that participants with expanding access to Zosavax had a significantly lower risk of being diagnosed with dementia.

“For the first time, we now have proofs that probably show a cause and effect relationship between the vaccination of areas and the prevention of dementia,” said Geldsetzer, the main study, said Health. “We note that these protective effects are large – substantially larger than those of existing pharmacological tools for dementia.”

The study joins an increasing set of research indicating that viruses “hibernate in your nervous system” can be linked to the development of cognitive problems later, said Geldsetzer.

As the VZV is sleeping in the body, said Martinello, this can affect the brain function by causing:

Thus, as the new study by Geldsetzer and its colleagues suggest, blocking these infections can be able to mitigate risks. A study published in Nature In April, also found a reduced impact on dementia in people who received the zona vaccine.

In the heels of this dementia study, researchers in South Korea noted that the zona vaccine is also associated with heart health benefits.

The study was based on data from the national health system of around 2.2 million Korean adults, including more than a million people who received a live shingle vaccine like Zostavax.

By comparing heart health results between unvaccinated and vaccinated people in about six years, researchers have found that obtaining a Zona shot led:

• A 26% lower risk of major cardiovascular events (including stroke, heart attack or cardiac disease)
• A reduced risk of 26% heart failure
• A 22% risk of coronary disease

The risk decrease has been particularly pronounced in men under the age of 60, people with “unhealthy lifestyle habits”, those of low -income households and people living in rural areas.

Data also showed that these protective advantages were the strongest of two to three years after vaccination, but lasted up to eight years.

“It takes time to the body to build a strong immune response,” a researcher at Kyung Hee University Medical Center in Seoul told Seoul. Health. “We also know that immunity induced by the vaccine tends to gradually decrease over time.”

Although this study “can simply not claim a direct cause and effect relationship” between the vaccination of areas and heart health, there are potential explanations on what is happening, Lee said.

“The infection of the areas has been associated with inflammation and the formation of clots in the blood vessels, which both contribute to cardiovascular events,” said Lee. “By preventing infection of areas, the vaccine probably reduces this inflammatory response, thus reducing the risk of heart disease.”

The results of these studies indicate that the advantages of a zona vaccine can extend beyond the prevention of infection itself. But it is important to remember that older American photos are currently encouraged to obtain are not the same as those included in studies.

Unlike Zostavax, the recommended shingrix is ​​a recombinant vaccine, which means that it contains proteins extracted from VZV, but not real living virus.

“Although the new Shingrix vaccine has not been studied, and it is a clear limitation of these studies, it is plausible that the shingrix vaccine is so good or potentially even better [at] Preventing people from having heart attacks and cerebral vascular accidents, or the development of dementia, “said Martinello.

Research has shown that, in healthy adults, Shingrix is:

• 97% effective in people aged 50 to 69
• 91% effective in people aged 70 and over

The 2019 CDC data suggested that only 26% of adults over 50 have already obtained a shingle vaccine.