“In a study published in Nature, the scientists analysed the health records of more than 280,000 adults in Wales between the ages of 71 and 88 years old. They were aiming to understand the effects of a shingles vaccination programme that began in 2013.

They found that older adults (aged 79–80) who had received the shingles vaccine were 20 per cent less likely to develop dementia by 2020, compared to those who hadn’t been eligible to receive it.

What’s more, in a recent follow-up study published in Cell, the same scientists discovered that the shingles vaccine seemed to have a protective effect even among those who’d already been diagnosed with dementia by 2013.”

From BBC Science Focus.