The shingles vaccine has been found to lower the risk of heart disease for up to eight years, according to a recent study published in the European Heart Journal. The study, which included over 1.2 million people aged 50 or older living in South Korea, revealed that those who received the vaccine had a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular events, including stroke, heart failure, and coronary heart disease.

The protective effect of the vaccine was particularly pronounced for men, younger individuals (under 60), and those with unhealthy lifestyles such as smoking, drinking alcohol, and being inactive. The study’s findings suggest that vaccination could offer health benefits beyond preventing shingles, a painful rash caused by the varicella zoster virus.

Led by Professor Dong Keon Yon from the Kyung Hee University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, the research team aimed to investigate whether getting vaccinated against shingles could lower the risk of heart problems associated with the condition. Their study involved gathering data on cardiovascular health and other factors that can influence health, such as age, sex, wealth, and lifestyle, for individuals who received the live zoster vaccine between 2012 and 2020.

The researchers found that among people who received the vaccine, there was a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular events overall, with a 26% lower risk of major cardiovascular events (a stroke, heart attack or death from heart disease), a 26% lower risk of heart failure, and a 22% lower risk of coronary heart disease. The protective effect was strongest in the two to three years after the shingles vaccine was given, but researchers found that the protection lasted for up to eight years.

The study’s findings have significant implications for public health policy and could lead to changes in vaccination recommendations to include cardiovascular benefits. However, as Professor Yon noted, more research is needed on the recombinant vaccine, which is now being used in many countries, to confirm its effectiveness in reducing heart disease risk.

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Groundbreaking Study Shows Vagus Nerve Stimulation Can Eliminate PTSD Symptoms for Up to Six Months

A historic clinical trial conducted by researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and Baylor University Medical Center has demonstrated that patients with treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can experience significant long-term benefits when paired with vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). The results, published in Brain Stimulation, show that all nine participants remained symptom-free for up to six months after completing traditional therapy along with VNS.

Dr. Michael Kilgard, the Margaret Fonde Jonsson Professor of neuroscience at UTD’s School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, expressed his excitement about the outcome, stating, “In a trial like this, some subjects usually do get better, but rarely do they lose their PTSD diagnosis. Typically, the majority will have this diagnosis for the rest of their lives.” Kilgard emphasized that the 100% loss of diagnosis among participants is “very promising.”

The study employed prolonged exposure therapy, a form of cognitive behavioral therapy, in conjunction with short bursts of VNS delivered via an implantable device. Assessments were conducted four times during the six months following the completion of the standard 12-session therapy course. The benefits persisted throughout this period for all nine participants.

This research represents the largest clinical trial to date utilizing an implanted device for PTSD treatment, according to Kilgard. Pioneering work by UTD researchers has previously demonstrated that VNS paired with physical rehabilitation can accelerate neuroplasticity – the rewiring of areas in the brain. Their 13-year effort to treat a wide variety of conditions using VNS has resulted in FDA approval for treating impaired upper-limb movement in stroke patients.

The National Center for PTSD estimates that 5% of adults in the U.S. have post-traumatic stress disorder in any given year, with women being twice as likely to develop PTSD at some point in their life. Many PTSD patients fail to respond to therapy or experience intolerable side effects or relapse, leaving them with no viable prospect for remission.

Kilgard emphasized that PTSD patients are not limited to military veterans but can also be found among average citizens who have faced traumatic events. “When you hear PTSD, you may picture a combat zone, but it’s much more prevalent than that,” he said. “It can stem from any event that inspires fear of death or bodily injury, or death of a loved one.”

The next step in the PTSD research – a double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 pilot study – is ongoing in Dallas and Austin. Researchers hope that it will represent another step toward FDA approval of a treatment that doesn’t exist now, and it would be invented, tested, and delivered by UTD, as was the case for upper-limb recovery after stroke.

Licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Mark Powers, a research center director of the Trauma Research Center at Baylor University Medical Center, is the lead author of the study. He expressed his enthusiasm about VNS, stating that it has “changed the game” by improving both treatment efficacy and its tolerability.

Powers added that his collaboration with UTD has a multidisciplinary synergy that he regards as rare. “With this alliance, we have people doing the preclinical and the clinical work at the same time, giving each other feedback and ideas,” he said. “Neither one of our groups could do this alone.”

The research was funded by a grant from the Biological Technologies Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

The human brain has an incredible ability to recognize objects from a very young age. This process involves the visual cortex, which is responsible for processing visual information from the eyes. While it’s been thought that specific neurons along this pathway handle specific types of information depending on their location, new research suggests that feedback connections play a crucial role in object recognition. These connections convey information from higher cortical areas to lower ones, contributing to the dynamic capabilities of the brain.

Studies have shown that even at the first stages of object perception, neurons are sensitive to much more complex visual stimuli than previously believed. This capability is informed by feedback from higher cortical areas, which can adapt moment-to-moment to the information they’re receiving. In fact, researchers have found that a single neuron may be more responsive to one target and with another cue, they’ll be more responsive to a different target.

This adaptive processing allows the brain to dynamically tune its functional properties, changing its specificities with varying sensory experience. The findings of this research have significant implications for our understanding of how we perceive reality and could lead to new insights into the mechanisms underlying brain disorders such as autism.

In fact, researchers are now beginning to investigate animal models of autism at both the behavioral and imaging level. By studying perceptual differences between autism-model mice and their wild-type littermates, scientists hope to identify any cortical circuitry differences that may underlie these differences.

Overall, this research highlights the complex and dynamic nature of object recognition processes in the brain, and how experience shapes our perception of reality. It also underscores the importance of feedback connections in this process and has significant implications for our understanding of brain function and disorders.