Influenza Vaccination Associated with a 40% Reduced Risk of Alzheimer ' s Disease

Researchers here note a sizable reduction in Alzheimer's disease risk in that part of the aged population that receives influenza vaccines. There is the usual question as to whether vaccination is a proxy for conscientiousness in health matters throughout later life, but here the focus is on biological mechanisms that might explain the effect. The most plausible to my eyes is the phenomenon of trained immunity, in which vaccination for a specific pathogen can provoke a general improvement in all functions of the innate immune system. This improvement includes reduced inflammation, and the chronic inflammation of aging is clearly important in the onset and progression of neurodegenerative conditions. This retrospective cohort study revealed that in adults aged 65 or old without dementia, mild cognitive impairment, or encephalopathy, patients who received at least one influenza vaccine were 40% less likely than their non-vaccinated peers to develop incident Alzheimer's disease (AD) during the 4-year follow-up period. The mechanisms underlying the apparent protective effects of influenza vaccination on AD risk merit further investigation. These mechanisms - and those underlying the effects of adulthood vaccinations on all-cause dementia risk in general - can be grouped into at least three broad, non-exclusive categories: 1) influenza-specific mechanisms, including mitigation of damage secondary to influenza infection and/or epitopic similarity between influenza proteins...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs