Study finds strongest evidence yet that shingles vaccine helps cut dementia risk

There is no cure for dementia, although drugs to slow the disease have recently been approved. Photograph: KatarzynaBialasiewicz/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Researchers who tracked cases of dementia in Welsh adults have uncovered the strongest evidence yet that the shingles vaccination reduces the risk of developing the devastating brain disease.

Health records of more than 280,000 older adults revealed that those who received a largely discontinued shingles vaccine called Zostavax were 20% less likely to be diagnosed with dementia over the next seven years than those who went without.