"Study strengthens link between shingles vaccine and lower dementia risk"

[Pink Partridge]

https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/03/shingles-vaccination-dementia.html

Many articles released on this yesterday. I find this to be very exciting news!

 

[easyas123]

Wow, that was a interesting article, thank you for sharing it.
My mom got Shingles a few years ago, a mild case. But it was still painful and uncomfortable for a while. I made my vaccine appt. the day I turned 50!

 

[CdnCarrie]

I was very excited to see this yesterday!

 

[hertamaniac]

That's been reviewed for a few months now. How do I know? I got my shingles shot series completed about 2 months ago and read about that study.

BTW....2nd shot had a more severe reaction, but not terrible.

 

[Pink Partridge]

BTW....2nd shot had a more severe reaction, but not terrible.

That is good to hear!

At this point, I would risk all uncomfortable reactions to get a chance at lowered dementia risk.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I know I really need to get this vaccine, yet another reason to get motivated to get it done.

 

[lanejudy]

Well, 20% lower risk is good but aren’t there other factors that make a person susceptible to dementia — like genetics and lifestyle. My parents both received the earlier Zostavax shot, dad developed dementia in this 70s while mom lived to 90 without any cognitive issues. DH received both the Zostavax version and Shingrix when it came out. He’s now struggling with mid-stage dementia.

 

[Marrila]

Well, 20% lower risk is good but aren’t there other factors that make a person susceptible to dementia — like genetics and lifestyle. My parents both received the earlier Zostavax shot, dad developed dementia in this 70s while mom lived to 90 without any cognitive issues. DH received both the Zostavax version and Shingrix when it came out. He’s now struggling with mid-stage dementia.

It's an interesting study, but as you point out there are lots of factors.
I am sorry to hear about your dh's illness. That must be so challenging for you both.

 

[hertamaniac]

That is good to hear!

At this point, I would risk all uncomfortable reactions to get a chance at lowered dementia risk.

The real driver was seeing the agony that my father went through the shingles years ago. Once I read that study and found out that it is free under my plan, I became a vaccine aficionado. As such, I'm about to complete my 3rd hep. A/B shots.

 

[Christine]

I'm a chicken when it comes to vaccines, but I finally got the Shingrix vaccine late last year (10 years overdue). That was one illness I didn't want to get and the vaccine has very good efficacy. That said, my coworker, who is 57, got Shingles last week and he had the vaccine when he was 50. So, not 100% unfortunately.

 

[_19disnA]

Although the posted article appears to be from a reputable medical website, I would avoid jumping to huge conclusions. Can recall back when covid first started, there were almost weekly various articles posted from dubious sources who rushed to make judgements about any number of things.

Medical community usually relies on peer reviews for any sort of medical 'breakthrough' announcements. If only one source makes a big deal out of this, I would be cautious until other reputable medical sources are able to confirm/refute their findings.

 

[disykat]

As the daughter of two people with dementia who spent 20 years dealing with the effects of their disease, I will celebrate any possible thing that will lower that risk. Why wouldn't I? No huge conclusion, no putting my eggs all in one basket, just being happy about any hints of possible strides towards help with this horrible disease.