Five vaccines recommended for older adults can reduce Alzheimer’s risk, study finds

disease Alzheimer’s disease More than 6 million people are affected in the United States alone, and worldwide, this number is growing due to an aging population. That’s why scientists from different institutions and countries conduct research to try to find treatments to stop, prevent or cure this disease.

A recent study by the Center for Academic and Scientific Research UTHealth Houston, linking use of certain vaccines to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease in adults over 65 years of age.it is for tetanus and diphtheria, With or without pertussis (Tdap/Td) Shingles (HZ), better known as herpes zoster; and pneumococcus.

The study was recently published in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, The study was led by co-author Kristofer Harris, a program manager in the Department of Neurology at UTHealth Houston’s McGovern Medical School. Paul E. Schultz, Rick McCord, MD, professor of neurology at McGovern Medical School, is lead author of the article.

The new findings come more than a year after Schultz’s team published another study in the journal that found that people who underwent at least one of the studies Flu vaccine They were 40 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than their unvaccinated peers.

“We wanted to know if the influenza findings were specific to the influenza vaccine. influenza.These data suggest that several other adult vaccines are also associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Schulz, Umphrey Family Professor of Neurodegenerative Diseases and director of the Center for Neurocognitive Disorders at McGovern Medical School. We and others hypothesized immune system It is responsible for the dysfunction of brain cells in Alzheimer’s disease. The findings show us that vaccinations have a more general effect on the immune system, reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. “

The research team has completed Lin Yaobing, UTHealth Houston McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics Graduate Research Assistant; Medical School alumnus Avram Bukhbinder MD conducted a retrospective cohort study that included dementia-free during a two-year review period and eight-year follow-up The patient period was 65 years old at the start. They compared two groups of similar patients, one vaccinated and one unvaccinated, by propensity score matching, Tdap/Td, HZ, or pneumococcal vaccine. Ultimately, they calculated relative and absolute risk reductions for developing Alzheimer’s disease.

“This study highlights the critical role that large-scale observational datasets play in biomedical research,” Lin said. “It’s especially encouraging to see consistent results across numerous large healthcare databases,” he said.

“By leveraging modern data analysis models and the large claims database subscribed to by the McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, we have gained valuable insights into which vaccines can prevent Alzheimer’s disease and may develop prevention strategy Xiaoqian Jiang, Ph.D., co-author of the study and the Christopher Salofim Family Chair of Biomedical Informatics and Bioengineering in the McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, said.

patients receiving this treatment Tdap/Td vaccine They were 30 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease compared to their unvaccinated peers (7.2 percent of vaccinated patients developed Alzheimer’s disease compared to 7.2 percent of unvaccinated patients 10.2% for Haimer’s disease).

same, Shingles Vaccination Associated with a 25% reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (8.1% in vaccinated patients vs 10.7% in unvaccinated patients).

for pneumococcal vaccinethe risk was reduced by 27% (7.92% in vaccinated patients vs 10.9% in unvaccinated patients).

In comparison, three novel anti-amyloid antibodies used to treat Alzheimer’s disease have been shown to slow disease progression by 25%, 27% and 35%, Schulz said.

“We speculate that the vaccine-associated reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease may be due to a combination of mechanisms,” Buchbinder said. “Vaccines can alter immune system Responding to the buildup of toxic proteins that lead to Alzheimer’s disease, for example, by increasing the efficiency of immune cells to clear toxic proteins, or by “tuning” the immune response to these proteins, thereby reducing the “collateral damage” to nearby health Brain Cells. Of course, these vaccines protect against infections like shingles, which can lead to neuroinflammation. “

The researchers explored the possible mechanism in a recent article in Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics.

Buchbinder said the study provides unique information about the potential impact of certain vaccine technologies in preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

this whooping cough vaccine Protects against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough, while the Td vaccine protects against the first two diseases. Adults need a booster shot of Td or Tdap every 10 years to maintain a high level of protection against tetanus and diphtheria, which are serious bacterial infections that usually affect the mucous membranes of the nose and throat.

Shingles can prevent shingles, a condition in which the chickenpox virus reactivates in the body, causing a painful rash.this CDC The CDC recommends that adults 50 and older, and adults 19 and older with a weakened immune system due to illness or treatment, receive two doses of the shingles vaccine, called Shingrix.

At the same time, for Pneumococcus can prevent pneumonia, meningitis, Sinus infections, blood infections, and middle ear infections. Pneumococcal disease is common in young children, but older adults are at higher risk of severe illness and death; therefore, the CDC recommends pneumococcal vaccination for all children under the age of 5 and all adults over the age of 65.

“This study underscores the importance of patients receiving treatment easy access Routine adult vaccinations,” Harris said. “The Alzheimer’s field has expanded tremendously in the past two years, particularly with the recent FDA approval of an anti-amyloid antibody drug. However, these drugs require expensive infrastructure to administer them safely. In contrast, the adult vaccine is widely available and routinely administered as part of a vaccination program. Our findings are a victory for Alzheimer’s disease prevention research and public health in general, as this is yet another study demonstrating the value of vaccination. “

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