The nerve!
A type of herpes virus — the varicella-zoster virus — causes chickenpox in childhood and shingles later in life.
Shingles travels along nerves, triggering a distinctive blistering rash and what some have described as the worst pain they have ever experienced.
A shingles infection can cause blood vessel damage, inflammation and clot formation, raising the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Older adults, people with weakened immune systems and those who’ve had chickenpox are at higher risk of shingles. Experts say vaccination is the most effective way to reduce this risk.
Now, a new study out of South Korea reports that a certain type of vaccine can offer benefits beyond lowering the risk of shingles — but it’s no longer available in the US.
The live zoster vaccine, which contains a weakened version of the shingles virus, can lower the risk of heart failure, a stroke, a heart attack or death from heart disease by 26% for up to eight years, according to research published Monday in the European Heart Journal.
“Our study suggests that the shingles vaccine may help lower the risk of heart disease, even in people without known risk factors,” said Dong Keon Yon from the Kyung Hee University College of Medicine in Seoul.
“This means that vaccination could offer health benefits beyond preventing shingles.”
South Korea offers two live zoster vaccines — SkyZoster was approved in 2017 and Zostavax in 2009.
The US allowed Zostavax until 2020.
Researchers found that its effectiveness waned over time and it didn’t protect everyone, such as people over 80 and those with weakened immune systems.
Studies suggested that Zostavax was 67% effective in the first year but only 50% effective in year 2.
It was replaced by Shingrix, a recombinant vaccine that uses a protein from the varicella-zoster virus to activate the body’s immune system to recognize and fight the virus. Shingrix has been found to be over 90% effective in preventing shingles.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that healthy adults 50 and older and immunocompromised adults 19 and older get two doses of Shingrix.
Yon’s team said more research on the recombinant vaccine is needed to see if it can provide similar cardio benefits as the live zoster vaccine. South Korea also offers Shingrix.
Yon’s study included data from over 1.2 million adults 50 and over in South Korea.
The protective effect was strongest in the two to three years after vaccination and especially pronounced in men, people younger than 60 and those who smoke, drink alcohol or avoid exercise.
“This is one of the largest and most comprehensive studies following a healthy general population over a period of up to 12 years,” Yon said.
“For the first time, this has allowed us to examine the association between shingles vaccination and 18 different types of cardiovascular disease,” he added. “We were able to account for various other health conditions, lifestyle factors and socioeconomic status, making our findings more robust.”
Yon noted that the study does not establish a direct causal relationship between the vaccine and the lower risk of heart problems, so underlying factors should be considered.
