The Washington Post (12/2, Sima) reports that researchers earlier this year reported “that the shingles vaccine cuts the risk of developing dementia by 20 percent over a seven-year period.” A large follow-up study published Tuesday in Cell “found that shingles vaccination may protect against risks at different stages of dementia – including for people already diagnosed.” The research “found that cognitively healthy people who received the vaccine were less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, an early symptomatic phase before dementia.” The study suggests that the shingles vaccine “may help people who already have dementia. Those who got the vaccine were almost 30 percent less likely to die of dementia over nine years, suggesting the vaccine may be slowing the progression of the neurodegenerative syndrome.” (SOURCE: APA Headines)