Shingles vaccine may also reduce stroke risk

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/aha-svm020420.php

News Release 12-Feb-2020
American Heart Association

Shingles, a viral infection caused by the chickenpox virus, is linked to an increased risk of stroke. A new study found that Zoster Vaccine Live, one type of shingles vaccination, may prevent some older adults from having a stroke, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2020 - Feb. 19-21 in Los Angeles, a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health.

More than 99% of people aged 40 or older in the United States carry the dormant chickenpox virus, also known as the varicella-zoster virus. Shingles is a reactivation of the chicken pox virus and typically occurs after age 50. The risk of developing shingles, a painful condition that causes skin blisters and can have serious complications, increases with age and other health conditions.

"One in three people who have had chickenpox develop shingles in their lifetime," said Quanhe Yang, Ph.D., lead study author and senior scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. "The Zoster Vaccine Live helps to prevent shingles and reduces the risk for shingles by about 51%. But its effect declines with increased age, about 64% in people 60-69 years, about 41% for ages 70-79 years and about 18% in those 80 years or older."

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Researchers found:

Receiving the shingles vaccine lowered the risk of stroke by about 16%, lowered the risk of ischemic (clot-caused) stroke by about 18% and lowered the risk of hemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke by about 12%;

The vaccine's protection was strongest among people ages 66 to 79 years; and

Among those under the age of 80 years, the shingles vaccine reduced the risk of stroke by nearly 20% and in those older than 80, reduced the risk by about 10%.

"The reason for increased risk of stroke after a shingles infection may be due to inflammation caused by the virus," according to Yang.

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