Herpes Zoster News and Research

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Herpes Zoster, also called shingles, is a painful skin rash caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus remains inactive in the body. Usually the virus does not cause any further problems; however, the virus may re-emerge years later, causing shingles.

Shingles vaccine eligibility lowers dementia risk in older adults

A large quasi-experimental study in Australia found that adults eligible for free shingles vaccination based on their date of birth were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with dementia over a 7.4-year period. The findings reinforce previous results from Wales and suggest a potential preventive role for HZ vaccination.

24 Apr 2025

Shingles vaccination associated with reduction in probability of new dementia diagnosis

Vaccination to prevent shingles also reduces the risk of developing dementia in later life, according to a research paper published recently in Nature.

8 Apr 2025

Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk by 20%, new study shows

A large natural experiment shows that the herpes zoster vaccine reduces dementia diagnoses by 20% over seven years. The findings suggest both viral suppression and immune training may play roles in brain health.

3 Apr 2025

Study highlights increase in VZV-induced CNS infections and dementia risk

Researchers from Fujita Health University, Japan, observed a rise in adult central nervous system (CNS) infections, primarily aseptic meningitis caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV), post-2019. The researchers highlighted the potential of zoster vaccination to reduce CNS infections.

27 Feb 2025

Long-term antiviral treatment may protect vision from shingles

Taking an antiviral medication for a year may prevent vision damage associated with shingles that affects the eye, according to new research led by faculty from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

21 Oct 2024

Long-term low-dose antiviral treatment reduces eye disease risk from shingles

Long-term, low-dose antiviral treatment reduces the risk for potentially vision-damaging bouts of inflammation and infection, as well as pain, which occur when shingles affects the eye, according to new research presented October 19 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) in Chicago.

20 Oct 2024

FAU researchers highlight new vaccination barriers

Vaccines to prevent common and serious infectious diseases have had a greater impact on improving human health than any other medical advance of the 20th century, surpassing even sanitation and potable water. From the global eradication of smallpox in 1980 to the unprecedented development of effective and safe mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, vaccinations have played crucial roles in preventing millions of premature deaths and hospitalizations in adults and children.

8 Oct 2024

APOE ε4 carrier status increases the long-term cognitive decline risk associated with herpes zoster

The long-term subjective cognitive decline risk associated with Herpes zoster infections.

19 Aug 2024

Recombinant shingles vaccine linked to lower dementia risk, especially in women

Study published in Nature Medicine found that the recombinant shingles vaccine is linked to a reduced risk of dementia. This protective effect was particularly notable in females, suggesting a potential advantage of the recombinant vaccine over the live vaccine.

7 Aug 2024

Recombinant shingles vaccination found to lower dementia risk

The effects of recombinant shingles vaccines on dementia.

25 Jul 2024

The association between viral infections and glioma risk

The causal relationship between viral infection and glioma.

7 Dec 2023

Herpes zoster vaccination and healthy aging: Study connect the dots

Vaccination with recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) prevents Herpes Zoster (HZ) infection.

30 Nov 2023

Live shingles vaccine highly effective in the first year after vaccination and then wanes substantially

The effectiveness of live zoster (shingles) vaccine is highest in the first year after vaccination and then wanes substantially.

8 Nov 2023

Pharmacists can play key role in boosting HPV vaccination rates

HPV, or human papillomavirus, is the most common sexually transmitted infection. It is also the leading cause of cervical cancer.

3 Oct 2023

Stem cell transplant offers hope for patients with multiple sclerosis

Stem cells harvested from a person's own bone marrow or blood, can safely slow progression of the most common form of the autoimmune disease, multiple sclerosis, or MS as it's usually known, finds research published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

26 Sep 2023

Stem cell transplant offers hope for MS patients, study finds

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or aHSCT for short, is usually used to treat blood cancers, and involves harvesting stem cells from the person's own bone marrow or blood followed by chemotherapy and antibody treatment.

25 Sep 2023

Prior vaccinations may help protect against Alzheimer's disease

Prior vaccination against tetanus and diphtheria, with or without pertussis (Tdap/Td); herpes zoster (HZ), better known as shingles; and pneumococcus are all associated with a reduced risk for developing Alzheimer's disease, according to new research from UTHealth Houston.

16 Aug 2023

HIV diagnoses increases more than three-fold after implementing targeted testing in EDs

Targeted testing for HIV in emergency departments has great potential for increasing diagnoses, this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark, (15-18 April), will hear.

10 Apr 2023

Study finds recent shingles infection increases the risk of myocardial infarction

Researchers assessed myocardial infarction (MI) risk after zoster infection.

30 Mar 2023

Cellular and humoral responses and the safety of recombinant and inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in chronic kidney disease patients

Researchers investigated the B cell and humoral immune responses elicited against inactivated and recombinant SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and their safety profiles in patients with CKD.

8 Feb 2023