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in collaboration with
Dr Christophe de Jaeger (Longevity and geriatrics)
Medical validation:
June 29, 2022
American scientists have discovered that the flu vaccine could reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Explanations.
Could the flu vaccine protect against Alzheimer’s disease? Yes, according to American researchers. The first results of this study, conducted by Paul. E. Schulz and Avram S. Bukhbinder, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Influenza: the recall would increase the protective effect of the vaccine
For this study, 935,887 patients vaccinated against influenza and 935,887 unvaccinated patients were closely observed for nearly four years. All were aged 65 or older at the start of follow-up. They also showed no signs of dementia.
After four years, approximately 5.1% of flu-vaccinated patients and 8.5% of unvaccinated patients developed Alzheimer’s disease.
In total, those vaccinated were 40% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Results, which underline the protective power of the vaccine against Alzheimer’s disease, according to the researchers.
“We found that influenza vaccination in older adults reduced the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease over several years. The strength of this protective effect increased with the number of years a person received an annual Alzheimer’s vaccine. The rate of development of Alzheimer’s disease was lowest among those who regularly received the flu vaccine each year.”revealed the first author of this study, Avram S. Bukhbinder.
However, beyond this correlation, the mechanics involved remain unclear. And this effect would not be specific to the flu vaccine alone.
“Several vaccines can protect against Alzheimer’s disease, so we believe that this is not a specific effect of the flu vaccine. Rather, we believe that the immune system is complex and that certain alterations, such as than pneumonia, can activate it in a way that aggravates Alzheimer’s disease”, assured the second author of the study, Paul. E. Schulz.
Further work needs to be carried out to confirm these first promising results.
” This is an interesting study, which reinforces the idea of systematic vaccination in the elderly, not only to protect them from the “flu” disease itself, but also to preserve them from the neurological manifestations of the flu. “says Dr. Jaeger.
Future research will also assess whether flu vaccination is also associated with less progression of symptoms in patients who already have the disease.
Alzheimer’s disease: available treatments
There is currently no treatment capable of curing the disease. Nevertheless, certain drugs can slow down its evolution – temporarily.
The main drugs used are Donepezil (Aricept), Rivastigmine (Exelon), Galantamine (Reminyl) and Memantine (Ebixa).
These alleviate the cognitive symptoms caused by the disease. Clearly, they temporarily improve the cognitive functions of the sick person and their behavioral disorders (great aggressiveness, hallucinations, opposition, agitation, etc.).
However, the disease continues to spread in the brain, until it affects long-term memories: episodic memory, semantic memory and procedural memory.
To counter these effects, researchers are currently working on a promising new treatment: immunotherapy, which stimulates the body’s immune responses.