Vaccination is associated with low risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in retirees
An analysis of medical data has shown a correlation between the development of dementia and vaccination in the elderly.Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston analyzed the link between regular vaccination in the elderly and the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The analysis showed that people aged 65 and older who were vaccinated were 30 percent less likely to suffer from dementia.
Researchers analyzed data from a medical database that contains information on patients from the United States. They analyzed data for eight years from 2011 to 2019. The sample included patients who were at least 65 years old at the start of the study and who had not had Alzheimer's disease in the previous two years. Some of the patients had received vaccines against pertussis, pneumococcal disease, and herpes zoster.
After adjusting for some sociodemographic and comorbidities, the researchers found a correlation between the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and vaccination. Compared to unvaccinated patients, it was reduced by 30 percent when vaccinated against pertussis, 27 percent against pneumococcus, and 25 percent against herpes zoster.
Researchers believe that vaccines change how the immune system responds to the buildup of toxic proteins that contribute to Alzheimer's disease. For example, this may be due to an increase in the efficiency of immune cells in clearing toxic proteins. By "honing" the immune response to these proteins, "collateral damage" to nearby healthy brain cells is reduced.
More research is needed to determine the exact causal relationship between vaccines and the development of Alzheimer's disease. But conducting a randomized controlled trial in which some participants will receive a placebo instead of prophylaxis against infection raises ethical concerns.