WASHINGTON (AP) - A vaccine to fight dementia? It turns out there may already be one - shots that prevent painful shingles also appear to protect aging brains.
Shingles is awful, but there may be another reason to get vaccinated. It may fight dementia
WASHINGTON (AP) - A vaccine to fight dementia? It turns out there may already be one - shots that prevent painful shingles also appear to protect aging brains.
A new study found shingles vaccination cut older adults' risk of developing dementia over the next seven years by 20%.
The research, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, is part of growing understanding about how many factors influence brain health as we age - and what we can do about it.
"It's a very robust finding," said lead researcher Dr. Pascal Geldsetzer of Stanford University. And "women seem to benefit more," important as they're at higher risk of dementia.