By Andrea Hargraves :strip_icc()/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_da025474c0c44edd99332dddb09cabe8/internal_photos/bs/2024/4/p/Q8SanHQWAAwCSPndD68g/medico-vacinando-um-paciente-na.jpg)
The brain may suffer long-term consequences after serious infections, including severe influenza and shingles, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Nature Aging. Researchers have found evidence that these diseases are associated with an increased risk of dementia years later and accelerated brain atrophy.
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Previous studies have shown this association, however, the mechanisms responsible for why infection contributes to this increased risk have not been discovered. In this way, the research analyzed how prior infection diagnoses are associated with changes in brain volumes over time and the risk of developing all-cause dementia, AD dementia, and vascular dementia (VaD).
To arrive at the findings, the team used data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, as well as photographs taken over a 16-year period of 982 adults with normal cognition.
From this, they discovered that of the 15 types of infections examined, six had a strong association with accelerated loss of brain volume, also known as brain atrophy. The area most affected was the temporal lobe, which performs some of its functions: auditory perception, integration of hearing and speech, visual memory and emotion.
Changes were also found in 260 proteins related to the immune system of people with a history of infections. The study identified at least 35 proteins, part of a subset, capable of promoting changes in brain size.
Among the proteins, some create negative consequences while others play a protective role. However, according to the researchers, infection was associated with a greater number of pathogenic infections, while protective infections decreased.
The herpes zoster vaccine may reduce the risk of dementia
The Shingrix vaccine against shingles, also known as shingles, can reduce the risk of dementia by 17% in the six years following vaccination, according to scientists at the University of Oxford. This protection was observed in both sexes, but was greater in women. The study was published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine.
Herpes zoster is characterized by a reactivation of the chickenpox virus, called varicella zoster, mainly after the age of 50. He causes Skin lesions, as well as fever, headache, malaise, nerve pain, and tingling or pins-and-needles sensation.
The research included data from 200,000 US participants from the TriNetX database. The results showed that Shingrix (produced by the pharmaceutical company GSK) was able to reduce the risk of dementia by 17% compared to Zostavax (from the pharmaceutical company MSD), and had the effect of making it 23-27% lower compared to other drugs. Vaccines. .
The researchers note that this equates to an additional 5-9 months of living without dementia for those who received Shingrix compared to other vaccines.
Shingrix can be found in Brazil through the private network. Full immunization takes place only after two doses, two months apart. Recommended for adults over 18 years of age (who are at greater risk of developing the disease).