Researchers at Stanford University have found that the shingles vaccine might help your brain and fend off dementia. The study results, published in Cell, are particularly compelling because the study was a randomized-controlled trial. It showed that people’s degenerative process slowed if they had had the shingles vaccine.
People face a very high risk–42 percent–of getting dementia in their lifetime after the age of 55. But, people who have had the shingles vaccine appear to be less likely–as much as 20 percent less likely–to develop dementia. And, if they have been diagnosed with dementia, they face a slower progression of dementia as a result of having had the shingles vaccine. They are nearly 30 percent less likely to die of dementia than people who have not had the shingles vaccine.
This is all the more reason to get the two-dose shingles vaccine, which Medicare covers. If possible, according to the CDC, you should get the shingles vaccine at 50. People who get the vaccine have only a 10 percent chance of getting shingles. Based on the evidence, one in three people in the US will get shingles if they have not had the vaccine.
Researchers believe that shingles and other herpes viruses can cause dementia. These viruses can infect the nervous system.
In sum, while more research is needed to confirm the findings, there’s good reason to get the shingles vaccine. Not only will it stave off shingles, it’s likely to stave off dementia.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Have you gotten your shingles vaccine?
- Get the preventive care you need: Medicare pays for it
- Kidney stones and five tips to prevent them
- Medicare covers diabetes prevention program
- Medicare will cover weight-loss drugs in 2027
