In 2020 according to the CDC an estimated 5.8 million Americans aged 65 and older had Alzheimer’s disease. The main risk factor for the disease is age, as the incidence increases after the age of 65 and explodes after the age of 80. But researchers may have found a solution to protect seniors: vaccination against tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), shingles, and pneumococcal disease. A pre-publication version of the paper is available in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Alzheimer’s
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Vaccination to prevent the development of Alzheimer’s disease
Just over a year ago, researchers at UTHealth Houston found that people who were vaccinated at least once against the flu were 40% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease compared to those who were not vaccinated. ‘We wondered if this finding is specific to the flu vaccine,’ explained Paul E. Schulz, lead author of the study, in a press release. ‘Our results show that several other adult vaccines are associated with a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. We – and others – hypothesize that the immune system is responsible for brain cell dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease. The results suggest that vaccination has a more general effect on the immune system that reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.”
Up to 30% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease
To reach their conclusions, the scientists conducted tests on people over 65 who were not suffering from dementia at the start of the study. The follow-up lasted eight years. There were two groups of patients: those who had not been vaccinated and those who had been vaccinated. Some received doses against tetanus and diphtheria (Td), tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (Tdap), herpes zoster (HZ), and pneumococcus.
Results: Patients who were vaccinated against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis were 30% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease compared to those who were not vaccinated. Those vaccinated against shingles had a 25% lower risk, and with the pneumococcal vaccine, there was a 27% lower chance of developing the disease.
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We hypothesized that the reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease associated with the vaccine is probably due to a combination of mechanisms,” explains Avram Bukhbinder, another author. “Vaccines may alter the way the immune system responds to the accumulation of toxic proteins that contribute to Alzheimer’s disease, for example by improving the efficiency of immune cells in removing toxic proteins or by ‘fine-tuning’ the immune response to these proteins so as to reduce ‘collateral damage’ to nearby healthy brain cells.”
Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. This study highlights how important it is that patients have easy access to routine adult vaccinations,” said Kristofer Harris, another author of the study. Adult vaccines are already available and routinely administered. Our results are a victory for Alzheimer’s prevention research and public health in general.”
In the long term, vaccination could be used to prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
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References
Harris, K., Ling, Y., Bukhbinder, A. S., Chen, L., Phelps, K. N., Cruz, G., Thomas, J., Kim, Y., Jiang, X., & Schulz, P. E. (2023). The Impact of Routine Vaccinations on Alzheimer’s Disease Risk in Persons 65 Years and Older: A Claims-Based Cohort Study using Propensity Score Matching. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, Pre-press(Pre-press), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-221231
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