If there were a vaccine that could reduce your risk of getting shingles down from a lifetime 33% chance to just 2%, while at the same time reduce your risk of developing dementia by 20%, would you get it? Have you done so already?
And what if taking an antiviral medication during a shingles outbreak could further reduce your risk of developing dementia later in life by 10-50%, would you take it? Maybe you’ve done so already.
Mounting evidence shows a link between viral infections and dementia risk, particularly with viruses in the herpes family including varicella zoster (which causes chicken pox and later shingles). In this post I’ll briefly review some of the newer studies and biological mechanisms, the risk reductions we might be seeing in people who have received the shingles vaccine, and why it’s a good idea to take antivirals when you have shingles. It’s good not just for the acute illness, but also for playing the long antiviral game.
And finally I’ll draw some parallels with an…