mmr vaccine age :: Article CreatorShingrix, The Shingles Vaccine, Could Reduce Your Risk Of Dementia
The new recombinant shingles vaccine, 'Shingrix,' is associated with a reduced risk of dementia compared to an earlier shingles vaccine, according to a major new study.
Shingrix (herpes zoster vaccine (recombinant, adjuvanted)). (Credit: Whispyhistory / CC BY-SA 4.0)
Whispyhistory via a Creative Commons license
Evidence from a team of scientists at the University of Oxford indicates that the newer shingles vaccine is more protective against dementia compared to the previous shingles vaccine. Both shingles vaccines were associated with a lowered risk of dementia when compared to either the influenza vaccine or the tetanus / diphtheria / pertussis (Tdap) vaccine.
The scientists studied health outcomes of more than 200,000 people who received one of the two different shingles vaccines and found that the recombinant shingles vaccine, Shingrix, reduces dementia by at least 17% more than the older, but now discontinued, live shingles vaccine, Zostavax. Further, they found that Shingrix reduced dementia risk by 23-27% than did vaccines against other illnesses. This equates to 5-9 months or more dementia-free days of life.
This protective effect was seen in both sexes, but was greater in women.
Interestingly, after the live vaccine against shingles, Zostavax, was introduced in 2006, several studies suggested it might reduce the risk of dementia. Later, Zostavax was discontinued in many countries, including the USA and UK, in favor of the much more effective vaccine, Shingrix. Unlike Zostavax, Shingrix is not a live virus vaccine. It's a recombinant vaccine made from a piece of the virus. It's given in two doses, with the second given 2 to 6 months after the first.
It was during this switchover between the two vaccine types that participants were identified for this comparative study. This provided the rare opportunity to compare the risk of dementia in the six years following Shingrix compared to the otherwise similar group of people who received Zostavax. There were more than 100,000 people in each group. The study also compared Shingrix to vaccines against other infections (flu and tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis).
"The size and nature of this study makes these findings convincing, and should motivate further research," said the study's lead author, Maxime Taquet, a NIHR Clinical Lecturer with educational backgrounds in both clinical psychiatry and engineering.
"They support the hypothesis that vaccination against shingles might prevent dementia. If validated in clinical trials, these findings could have significant implications for older adults, health services, and public health."
How might Shingrix protect against dementia?
"One possibility is that infection with the Herpes zoster virus might increase the risk of dementia, and therefore by inhibiting the virus, the vaccine could reduce this risk, replied co-author, John Todd, a Professor of Precision Medicine at the University of Oxford and Director of the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics and of the JDRF/Wellcome Diabetes and Inflammation Laboratory (DIL).
"Alternatively, the vaccine also contains chemicals which might have separate beneficial effects on brain health," Dr Todd added. These chemicals, known as adjuvants, are designed to ensure that your immune system reacts strongly to the vaccine so a lasting immune response develops.
"The Shingrix vaccine has got different and perhaps more potent chemical adjuvants in it than the previous vaccine."
Various analyses showed that these findings are robust but further research is still needed before any suggestion can be made that the shingles vaccine itself should be used to help prevent or delay dementia onset.
"The findings are intriguing and encouraging," said the study's senior author, Paul Harrison, Theme Leader in the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre, and a Group Leader in the Oxford Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging.
Diagnosis Shingles, pills and stethoscope.
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Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which causes chickenpox, a common childhood illness. After recovery, VZV quietly hides in the nervous system for decades, but can re-emerge to cause shingles when the immune system is compromised or due to age or stress.
Shingles is a painful and potentially serious illness that can arise in people over the age of 50. Although most people recover from a shingles attack within one year, approximately one in five people will end up with post-herpetic neuralgia, which can last weeks, months, or years. These sequelae include vision damage or blindness (which are permanent), lasting pain that can be quite severe, scarring, and more.
For these reasons, the CDC recommends that adults age 50 and older should get the Shingrix vaccine to prevent shingles and the potentially severe complications from the illness. People who have already had shingles can get the Shingrix vaccine as can those who received Zostavax in the past. It's also worthwhile to get the vaccine if you don't know if you've had chickenpox as a child.
This study's findings raise an interesting question — especially in this age of 'anti-vaxx' lunacy — might the public increase their uptake of the Shingrix vaccine to reduce their risk of dementia along with protecting against a dreaded shingles attack?
"Anything that might reduce the risk of dementia is to be welcomed," Dr Harrison said, "given the large and increasing number of people affected by it."
Maxime Taquet, Quentin Dercon, John A. Todd & Paul J. Harrison (2024). The recombinant shingles vaccine is associated with lower risk of dementia, Nature Medicinedoi:10.1038/s41591-024-03201-5
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New Pneumonia Vaccine Gets CDC Nod: Should You Get It?
Come this fall, some adults may be rolling up their sleeves to receive an additional vaccine to go with their COVID-19, flu, and RSV shots.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated their vaccine recommendations to include the new pneumococcal 21-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV21) as an option for high-risk individuals.
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PCV21 was approved in June for adults 18 and older to protect against invasive pneumoccocal disease.
[2] This infection can cause contagious and potentially severe illness, such as pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis.
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What Is PCV21 and What's the Difference From Other Pneumonia Vaccines? The new inoculation, manufactured by Merck under the name Capvaxive, targets distinct groups of pneumococcal bacteria (serotypes) responsible for about 84 percent of invasive pneumococcal disease in adults age 50 and older.
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The shot includes eight unique serotypes not covered by other currently approved pneumococcal vaccines — those serotypes were responsible for about 27 percent of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in adults age 50 and older and about 30 percent in adults age 65 and old, according to Merck.
The CDC recommendation follows the recent approval of the vaccine by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which was based on four clinical trials demonstrating robust immune responses in different adult populations.
Why Pneumonia Vaccines Matter Pneumococcal bacteria can cause serious and often life-threatening illnesses. About 150,000 people in the United States are hospitalized each year with pneumococcal pneumonia, and between 7,500 and 10,500 of them die, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
[5] The death rate is even higher among adults 65 years and older, as well as for people with underlying health conditions.
Other infections are less common, but more deadly. Pneumococcal meningitis kills about 1 in 6 older patients who are infected; and blood infection kills about 1 in 8 adults who get it.
The CDC stresses that vaccination is the best way to protect against serious pneumococcal infections.
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"Pneumococcal disease is a leading killer of older people and if you don't get vaccinated, you're at increased risk that it could be a life-ending event," says internist Sandra Fryhofer, MD, the American Medical Association's liaison to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which unanimously recommended the new Capaxive vaccine.
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The side effects from vaccination (such as injection site pain, fatigue, and headache) are minimal, and the benefits far outweigh the risks. Says Fryhofer, who is also adjunct associate professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and is on staff at several Emory Healthcare hospitals.
Who Should Consider PCV Vaccination
This latest vaccine is recommended as an option for adults age 65 and older who have not previously received a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine or whose previous vaccination history is unknown.
Individuals ages 19 to 64 with certain risk factors, certain underlying medical conditions — such as heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, kidney disease, or liver disease — are urged to get the shot as well.
The immunization is also advised as an option for adults age 19 and up who have been previously vaccinated with other pneumococcal vaccines — specifically those who have started their pneumococcal vaccine series with PCV13 (pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine) but have not received all recommended PPSV23 (pneumococcal 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine) doses.
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What Are the Advantages of the New Vaccine?
Is this new vaccination better than pneumococcal vaccines that have come before?
That's a "complicated question," according to Michael Niederman, MD, a pulmonary and critical care medicine specialist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, whose research has focused on preventing infections associated with pneumococcal disease.
"The trouble with comparing different vaccines is that they cover different strains," he says.
Prevnar20 (pneumococcal 20-valent conjugate vaccine) from Pfizer has been a leading vaccination for adults. While PCV21 covers just one more strain than PCV20, the comparison is more than a matter of numbers.
When it comes to preventing pneumococcal illness, Prevnar20 targets a little over half of likely strains but Capvaxive covers slightly more than 80 percent, according to Dr. Niederman.
"The choice of vaccine depends a lot on your risk factors," he says. "If you're a high-risk person for invasive pneumococcal infection, you get better coverage with PCV21, but there is one invasive strain that's covered by PCV20 that's not covered by PCV21, so there's compromises in any choice."
Dr. Fryhofer adds that PCV21 can also be an option for those who have received earlier versions of pneumococcal vaccination.
"If you're 65 or older and five years out from getting an earlier combination pneumococcal vaccine series [PCV13 plus PPSV23], you have the option of getting either PCV20 or now PCV21," she says. Even if you've received PCV20, you might be advised to get PCV21 depending on how high-risk you are.
Because pneumococcal vaccine recommendations can be complicated, Fryhofer advises patients to get direction from their healthcare provider and stay up to date with the latest CDC immunization schedules.
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Having the flu increases the risk of getting pneumococcal disease so protection against the illness is especially important during flu season, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
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If both vaccines are due, they can be administered during the same healthcare visit.
Capaxive will be available in the United States by late summer, according to a spokesperson from Merck. Out-of-pocket costs individuals will pay depend on their specific insurance plans and coverage. Historically when the CDC endorses a vaccine, insurance plans are more likely to cover costs.
Shingles Vaccine Could Lead To Delay In Dementia
July 25, 2024 – Need another reason to finally go get that shingles vaccine? It could lessen your risk of another dangerous disease: dementia.
And there are a lot of people who could still get this potential bonus, as only an estimated 30% of eligible Americans have received the two-dose shingles vaccine, known as Shingrix, according to government data.
Shingrix – the newer recombinant shingles vaccine – has a stronger effect in lowering dementia risk than Zostavax, the former live shingles vaccine, according to a new study out of Nature Medicine. Previous studies have found that taking Zostavax (which was discontinued in the U.S. In 2020) could also lower your chance of getting dementia, but the data was minimal.
Researchers from the University of Oxford studied electronic health data of more than 200,000 Americans over the age of 65. Shingrix led to a significantly lower risk of being diagnosed with dementia within 6 years after being vaccinated.
Getting the Shingrix vaccine was linked to a 17% longer period before being diagnosed with dementia. This means people who do develop dementia after getting the vaccine live an average of 164 more days without the disease.
Findings also show the effects were greater for women (22%) vs. Men (13%). More studies are needed to understand exactly why the shingles vaccine can delay dementia, and why women experience greater effects than men, the researchers said during a news conference today.
"Many vaccines have adjuvants, or chemicals that are designed to make sure your body reacts to the vaccine in a strong enough way to get the protection it seeks," said study co-author Paul Harrison, a doctor of medicine and psychiatry professor at the University of Oxford.
The other possibility, he said, is that the Shingrix vaccine has different and, maybe, more potent ingredients, and it's these chemicals, not necessarily the vaccine itself, that help.
Nearly 7 million people were living with dementia in the U.S. In 2023, according to the CDC, along with more than 900,000 people in the U.K.
It's also important to note that the study findings suggest that the shingles vaccine could delay dementia, not necessarily prevent the disease, according to study co-author Maxime Taquet, PhD, a clinical lecturer at the U.K.-based National Institute for Health and Care Research. But a 5-month delay in dementia diagnoses is no small feat, and such outcomes could have major public health implications, Harrison said.
Shingles comes from herpes zoster virus – the same virus that causes chickenpox. In fact, around 10% of people who have previously had chickenpox will get shingles later in life. Shingles, which affects around 1 million Americans each year, usually starts off as a group of small bumps that later turn into blisters filled with fluid. The fluid dries out, and the blister usually crusts over in about 7 to 10 days. It is often very painful.
To prevent shingles, the CDC recommends healthy adults ages 50 and older get two doses of the Shingrix vaccine. Certain immunocompromised people ages 19 or older are also urged to get the vaccine.
"Shingles is an unpleasant and serious infection that causes a lot of pain during the blistering phase," said Harrison. "For some people, that pain goes on for a very long time, and in some people, depending on which nerve is affected by the shingles, they could go blind, or other long-term implications."
To learn more about shingles, click here. Go here for information on dementia.
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