A new study finds that the shingles vaccine sometimes offered to older adults has been associated with a decrease in the development of dementia later on.
Published in the Nature journal on Wednesday, the study found that older adults who received the zoster vaccine, also known as the shingles vaccine, were 20 percent less likely to develop dementia over the next seven years after receiving the shot, as compared with their counterparts who didn’t receive the vaccine.
Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful, itchy rash, typically on one side of the body. Health officials say it generally develops in people aged 50 and older, with those aged 60 and up likely to develop more severe symptoms….