A no-brainer for protecting your brain

I'm in my 40s with genetic predisposition for Alzheimer's. Been seriously considering the past year or two paying out of pocket for Shingrix. I think it would be ~$500 total for two doses.

Sure, I could wait 7 or 8 years until I qualify via insurance, but is that really worth the risk for what is an easily absorbed cost to me? Especially when I have a friend in her late 30s who just went through a very rough bout of shingles?

It makes sense to have targets like age 50 for population-wide public health recommendations. But it can and does infect people of much earlier ages.

Recent articles like this make me think I'll go ahead.

Replicated association, which is strong, but not proof. Initial study saw a 3.5% absolute reduction in dementia diagnoses over seven years with a very wide confidence interval. In Australia the study was replicated with 1.8% absolute reduction over 7.4 yrs. Canadian replication: 2% over 5.5 yrs.

Infections generally increase the risk of future dementia. Like the more colds you have throughout life.

So if you had shingles in your youth then you are better protected against dementia?

Recently, even the TDAP (Tetanus) vaccine was correlated with lower incidence of dementia https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26919881

I recall seeing a few discussions on HN comments hypothesizing that immune system stimulation via the vaccine might be the root cause. Now that the Amyloid hypothesis is on the wane, hopefully we'll explore other paths.

I know quite a few people who got shingles in their early 20s. One of their doctors didn’t believe she had shingles until the blisters formed. The vaccine can definitely help those younger than 50, dementia benefits or not. Some of them have permanent nerve damage after getting shingles.

TL;DR Shingles vaccines reduces chances of dementia by 20%. Yet, most countries health systems only look at the upfront cost of ~$300 and don’t recommend for all who could benefit.

Most people with a weak immune system don't supplement a correct dose of basic immune boosting supplements like vitamin D3 (4-6 KIU), zinc (15-25 mg), selenium (200 mcg), and beta glucan, which typically is why they have a weak immune system in the first place.

Shingles vaccine, if you don't feel like clicking through.

I'm in my 40s with genetic predisposition for Alzheimer's. Been seriously considering the past year or two paying out of pocket for Shingrix. I think it would be ~$500 total for two doses.

It makes sense to have targets like age 50 for population-wide public health recommendations. But it can and does infect people of much earlier ages.

Recent articles like this make me think I'll go ahead.

I read before that iirc because of waning protection it’s better not to get it too early. It’s not clear to me why you can’t get it twice, but what I read (and it was some online discussion so could be wrong) was that someone had been specifically told by their doctor to wait to 50 as the best spot to get it. I’d like to know more, I’m in my 40s and would be happy to get it now too but not if it was going to be worse overall for some reason.

Wait, you can just pay for the shingles vaccine, before you're 50? Where do I do that?

I had shingles in my 30s. It was the sickest I've ever been.

I got shingles at 45 and it was -not fun-. My arm is slightly disfigured.

I think the age 50 target is dated. With reduced childhood incidence of chicken pox, we're all exposed to varicella zoster less, and it seems like the ages of incidence of shingles is falling. Public health recommendations are slow to catch up with research (especially for vaccinations, these days).

Shingles terrifies me because it can cause hearing loss. I spoke to my GP and he wouldn't give me a script for it even though I'm 3 years away from qualifying. He mentioned side effects.

aside from age ranges being the tested population, your just gambling no other interference pattern is involved.

Infections generally increase the risk of future dementia. Like the more colds you have throughout life.

>Replicated association [...]

"association" undersells it a bit, because the data is better than the typical cohort study, which has issues like "what if people who got the vaccine are also richer and care about their health more?". There's quasi-randomization going on. From the more in depth article that's linked:

>Research is also revealing unexpected interventions that help to keep ageing minds sharp. One of the most promising derives from an analysis by Pascal Geldsetzer of Stanford University and his team of a natural experiment in Wales. In 2013 the British region started offering people aged 70-79 free vaccinations through the public-health system. This change resembled an RCT, in that a large number of people were separated almost at random into two groups: those who had already turned 80 in the weeks before the programme started, and so were not eligible to be jabbed; and those who turned 80 in the weeks after, roughly half of whom were duly vaccinated.

TL;DR Shingles vaccines reduces chances of dementia by 20%. Yet, most countries health systems only look at the upfront cost of ~$300 and don’t recommend for all who could benefit.

In a separate article the other factors are quoted with similar impact (listed in order of max potential magnitude) - anti depression treatment - education increases - hearing improvement - obesity reduction - low alcohol

The earlier you start the better.

Should I get the shingles vaccine at a young age? I've had chickenpox earlier in my life.

I got shingles at 45 and it was -not fun-. My arm is slightly disfigured.

Wait, you can just pay for the shingles vaccine, before you're 50? Where do I do that?

I had shingles in my 30s. It was the sickest I've ever been.

Shingles terrifies me because it can cause hearing loss. I spoke to my GP and he wouldn't give me a script for it even though I'm 3 years away from qualifying. He mentioned side effects.

>Replicated association [...]

Should I get the shingles vaccine at a young age? I've had chickenpox earlier in my life.

The antibodies you develop to fight the virus fade over time. I just had it fairly recently (young 30s, vaccinated with the attenuated chickenpox virus, never had chickenpox, so this was likely the vaccine strain¹). Did a lot of reading and research during and after. The antibodies seem to offer good protection for 5-10 years following either vaccination or infection according to the literature I was reading.

¹ The vaccine strain tends to be much more mild than the wild strain, and indeed it was quite unpleasant, but not extremely painful for me. The wild strain is considerably more painful and linked to a greater incidence rate of complications. Please do not skip chickenpox vaccinations for your kids, the minor risk of latent infection from attenuated vaccine is far less harmful than the consequences of not vaccinating. Most important of all, if you have a cluster of blisters or rash on one side of your body that keep popping up, make sure to see a doctor and get on antivirals within the first 72 hours for best results.

Shingles vaccine, if you don't feel like clicking through.

aside from age ranges being the tested population, your just gambling no other interference pattern is involved.

Did they not teach English spelling and grammar in your school?

This comment is being downvoted for being rude, but there really is no other way I know to express it effectively. If you think there is, show it.

The earlier you start the better.

Can you share the article you reference?

> hearing improvement

This means addressing hearing loss, e.g. via hearing aids.

>anti depression treatment - regular exercise - obesity reduction - education - less/no alcohol

Injecting people with a shingles vaccine is far easier than the others you listed, which is why it stands out.

Did they not teach English spelling and grammar in your school?

This comment is being downvoted for being rude, but there really is no other way I know to express it effectively. If you think there is, show it.

Can you share the article you reference?

>anti depression treatment - regular exercise - obesity reduction - education - less/no alcohol

Injecting people with a shingles vaccine is far easier than the others you listed, which is why it stands out.

> hearing improvement

This means addressing hearing loss, e.g. via hearing aids.

Recently, even the TDAP (Tetanus) vaccine was correlated with lower incidence of dementia https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26919881

> the Amyloid hypothesis is on the wane

Oh? What did I miss?

So if you had shingles in your youth then you are better protected against dementia?

No, the opposite. If you've had shingles before, you're more likely to get it again later, not less.

The article says that one possible reason the vaccine protects against dementia is incidental protection from other diseases. Getting chickenpox as a kid might protect you against shingles, but maybe not against those other diseases.

Not really, shingles is a lifetime infection. You'd be more likely.

> the Amyloid hypothesis is on the wane

Oh? What did I miss?

I think the short version is that people have developed a lot of things to substantially reduce the levels in human brains, and it doesn't seem to be yielding clearly-good results.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32183302

TL;DR A lot of evidence supporting the Amyloid hypothesis is suspect.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32183302

TL;DR A lot of evidence supporting the Amyloid hypothesis is suspect.

No, the opposite. If you've had shingles before, you're more likely to get it again later, not less.

I think the short version is that people have developed a lot of things to substantially reduce the levels in human brains, and it doesn't seem to be yielding clearly-good results.

Not really, shingles is a lifetime infection. You'd be more likely.

No! The opposite thing is true. Getting chickenpox as a kid drastically increases your likelihood of getting shingles as an adult. The initial chickenpox infection is the mechanism by which you're set up for shingles: you get it, fight it back, and it remains dormant in your nerves. Shingles is not simply chickenpox; it's the secondary infection you get from a resurgent zoster outbreak based in your nerves.

Don't get chickenpox.

Well, now… I can tell you second hand that catching chicken pox as an adult is no picnic either.

No it is not. Ranked list of outcomes:

1. Not getting chickenpox at all. Highly desirable.

2. Getting chickenpox as a kid.

3. Getting chickenpox as an adult.

No it is not. Ranked list of outcomes:

1. Not getting chickenpox at all. Highly desirable.

2. Getting chickenpox as a kid.

3. Getting chickenpox as an adult.

Jul 9th 2026|4 min read

FEW CONDITIONS are as feared as dementia, of which Alzheimer’s is the most common cause. This is mostly because of its insidious nature, since it strips people of their sense of self and leaves those who love them caring for a stranger. “Alzheimer’s is me unwinding, losing trust in myself, a butt of my own jokes and, on bad days, capable of playing hunt the slipper by myself, and losing,” wrote the late Sir Terry Pratchett, a novelist who had a rare form of it. “I felt totally alone, with the world receding from me in every direction.”

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “A no-brainer for your brain”

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