Have you ever wondered what the purpose of staying up to date on your vaccines is? Well, new research is showing that not only does it help to prevent the disease the vaccine is protecting you from, but it may also reduce your risk of Alzheimer's and other dementia related diseases. In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Paul Schulz discuss the exciting discovery that influenza vaccines may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's by up to 40%. Dr. Schulz's research suggests that high-dose vaccines (offered to those over the age of 65) are more effective, particularly in women. Additionally, other vaccines like shingles, pneumococcus, and Tdap also showed protective effects. Key Takeaways: Every neurologist knows that when your Alzheimer's patient gets pneumonia, a UTI, bronchitis, a hip fracture, a hip replacement, or any inflammatory process in the body, it makes their Alzheimer's a lot worse. Over the age of 65, patients are typically given a 4x dose of the influenza vaccine for as long as it is available. Evidence shows that the regular dose reduces Alzheimer's by about 40%, while the high dose reduces it by about 15% more. Other types of vaccines, including for shingles, pneumococcus, and Tdap, also show effectiveness in the reduction of Alzheimer's and related dementias. "The conclusion was that compared to people with no influenza vaccines, which turns out to be very common, unfortunately, in the United States, three annual vaccines out of six years is associated with a 20% reduction in Alzheimer's risk for up to eight years that we know of so far." — Dr. Paul Schulz Connect with Dr. Paul Schulz: Professional Bio: https://med.uth.edu/neurosciences/dr-paul-e-schulz-md-2/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-schulz-199a9944/ Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MoJcqd4AAAAJ&hl=en Connect with Therese: Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net Bluesky: @CriticallySpeaking.bsky.social Instagram: @criticallyspeakingpodcast Email: [email protected] Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

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