Lower risk of dementia with AS01-adjuvanted vaccination against shingles and respiratory syncytial virus infections, 2025, Taquet et al

[Chandelier]

Authors:

• Maxime Taquet
• John A. Todd
• Paul J. Harrison

Abstract​

AS01-adjuvanted shingles (herpes zoster) vaccination is associated with a lower risk of dementia, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. In propensity-score matched cohort studies with 436,788 individuals, both the AS01-adjuvanted shingles and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines, individually or combined, were associated with reduced 18-month risk of dementia. No difference was observed between the two AS01-adjuvanted vaccines, suggesting that the AS01 adjuvant itself plays a direct role in lowering dementia risk.


Published: 25 June 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-025-01172-3

Lower risk of dementia with AS01-adjuvanted vaccination against shingles and respiratory syncytial virus infections - npj Vaccines

AS01-adjuvanted shingles (herpes zoster) vaccination is associated with a lower risk of dementia, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. In propensity-score matched cohort studies with 436,788 individuals, both the AS01-adjuvanted shingles and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines...

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[Chandelier]

This is the first paper that I post here.
Please let me know if there’s any potential for improving the structure or if the subject is too far fetched for this forum.
Thank you!

 

[forestglip]

Interesting, thanks!

One possibility is that they independently reduce dementia risk by preventing their respective infections, shingles and RSV. [...] However, the fact that a protective effect is seen within a few months of vaccination (as was observed in our previous study5) argues against this possibility as it seems unlikely that enough infections would be prevented during such a short time frame to explain the magnitude of the protection against dementia.

This seems like it could be important. They thought preventing the shingles infection was helping prevent dementia, but this is pointing to a specific ingredient found in multiple vaccines instead.

 

[forestglip]

Reply:

Methodological Issues in Taquet et al.‘s analysis preclude any conclusions regarding AS01 adjuvant’s specific role in dementia prevention

Williams, S. Elizabeth; Luisi, Kate; Liang, Caihua; Cane, Alejandro; Begier, Elizabeth

Abstract
Taquet et al. evaluated the impact of AS01-adjuvanted vaccines on subsequent dementia diagnosis. The authors conclude: “No difference was observed between the two AS01-adjuvanted vaccines, suggesting that the AS01 adjuvant itself plays a direct role in lowering dementia risk”. Although the study offers promising evidence, the inference regarding the role of AS01 adjuvant in dementia prevention is not convincingly supported by the presented data or other published literature.

Snippets:

while the AS01 dose in the RSVpreF36 is half that of AS01-adjuvanted herpes zoster vaccine7, the dementia risk reduction estimate was similar for the two vaccines, indicating no evidence for a dose-response relationship with this vaccine component.

Third, other published literature does not support vaccine-associated dementia risk reduction as being specifically related to the AS01 adjuvant or other adjuvants. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the association between adult vaccination and dementia risk2.

Pooled results found that overall, vaccinations were associated with a 35% lower dementia risk (HR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.60–0.71) and the trend was consistent regardless of vaccination type, with several being significantly associated with decreased risk

Given similar risk reductions seen across multiple vaccine types, it is possible that the observed dementia risk reduction is due to vaccinations’ prevention of severe disease and associated hospitalizations generally.

A 2024 population-based study found RSV seropositivity was associated with a twofold increase in mild cognitive impairment and dementia11.

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