ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Diverse pathogens (viral, bacterial, fungal) have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) indicating a possibility that the culprit may be compromised immunity rather than particular microbe. If true, then vaccines with broad beneficial effects on immunity might be protective against AD.
METHODS We estimated associations of common adult infections, including herpes simplex, zoster (shingles), pneumonia, and recurrent mycoses, as well as vaccinations against shingles and pneumonia, with the risk of AD in a pseudorandomized sample of the Health and Retirement Study.
RESULTS Shingles, pneumonia, and mycoses diagnosed between ages 65-75, were all associated with higher risk of AD later in life, by 16%-42%. Pneumococcal and shingles vaccines received between ages 65-75 both lowered the risk of AD, by 15%-21%.
DISCUSSION Our results support the idea that the connection between AD and infections involves compromised immunity rather than specific pathogen. We discuss mechanisms by which the declining immune surveillance may promote AD, and the role of biological aging in it. Repurposing of vaccines with broad beneficial effects on immunity could be a reasonable approach to AD prevention. Pneumococcal and zoster vaccines are promising candidates for such repurposing.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Funding Statement
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institutes of Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIA/NIH) under award numbers RF1AG046860, R01AG076019, R01AG062623, R01AG066133, and R01AG063971.
Author Declarations
I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.
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The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:
The Duke University Health System Institutional Review Board for Clinical Investigations, Federalwide Assurance No: FWA 00009025 gave ethical approval for this work IRB ID: Pro00048443, Pro00109279, Pro00105166, Pro00103556, Pro00006711.
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Data Availability
Data subject to third party restrictions. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (grant number U01-AG009740) and led by the University of Michigan. Restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for this study. Data are available at https://hrs.isr.umich.edu with the permission of the HRS.