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The shingles vaccine may have a dementia upside

Research suggests it could prevent and slow the progress of cognitive decline

The shingles vaccine could, at a stretch, be labelled an accidental blockbuster. It does its intended job of fending off the varicella-zoster virus, which causes both chickenpox and shingles, but a growing body of evidence hints it also protects against dementia, particularly among women.

Over the past year, data from separate vaccine rollouts in Wales, Australia, Canada and the US suggests it can delay the onset of dementia, slow down its progress and cut the risk of death among those already diagnosed. Despite the vaccine being aimed at the over-50s, the 39-year-old researcher leading some of the analyses is so convinced by the data that he has had the jab himself.

Pascal Geldsetzer, assistant professor of medicine at Stanford University, is now trying to set up a clinical trial to prove it is cause and effect, not mere correlation. “It’s extremely exciting because this is an inexpensive one-off intervention, not a medication that has to be taken every day or an exercise and diet regimen you have to stick to for decades,” he told me.

The unexplained connection between shingles vaccination and lowered dementia risk matters for several reasons: it highlights the power of “natural studies”, which harness mass observational data; it shows how repurposing vaccines and therapies can offer hope where novel offerings are falling short; it implicates viruses in neurodegenerative diseases; and it reveals the potential wider gains of vaccination at a time when public confidence is wobbling.

The studies focus mostly on the Zostavax vaccine, a live attenuated form of the varicella-zoster virus (in many countries, Zostavax has now been superseded by the more effective Shingrix vaccine). The virus causes chickenpox in childhood and can reactivate later to cause shingles, a painful rash that can have long-term effects including hearing loss and blindness. Older people and those with weakened immune systems are most at risk.

In 2013, Wales rolled out Zostavax to those aged 70-79 on September 1. The cut-off meant that anyone turning 80 after that date could get jabbed but everyone older, even by one day, never became eligible.

As Geldsetzer puts it, that policy created “these beautiful comparison groups. If you take 1,000 people born one week, and compare them to 1,000 people born a week later, there shouldn’t be anything [systematically] different between them except for their probability of getting the shingles vaccine.”

The two groups in Wales, comprising over 280,000 people, did show a striking difference over the next seven years: the vaccine-eligible group were 20 per cent less likely to receive a dementia diagnosis. Eric Topol, a US researcher who writes the Ground Truths medical blog, surveyed the evidence and concluded recently: “If this vaccine was a drug and reduced Alzheimer’s by 20 per cent, it would be considered a major breakthrough.” One study published last month in The Journals of Gerontology even suggested a link with slower biological ageing.

It is unclear why women benefit more than men and unknown whether the dementia advantage comes from keeping the shingles virus battened down or from a more general vaccine-induced polishing of the immune system. It could be both. Research from 2024 showed that the newer Shingrix vaccine and RSV vaccine are both linked to an even greater reduction of dementia risk, attributed to an immune-boosting ingredient. One theory is that the vaccines somehow reduce inflammation, which might otherwise prime brain cells to go rogue or reactivate viruses. It is unclear, though, how these findings relate to people who have already had shingles, nor whether a jab would lower their dementia risk.

Geldsetzer is now looking to fund a clinical trial on Zostavax to answer those questions and as a step towards regulatory approval. In November, the Alzheimer’s Society, together with scientists at the University of Exeter, also identified Zostavax as a promising candidate.

The UK recently announced plans to lower the age of eligibility for Shingrix to 60; the UK Health Security Agency said vaccine advisers do weigh up off-target benefits and had noted the link. Topol thinks over-50s should consider it. Zostavax, meanwhile, is out of patent. You can’t help but hope that this (relatively) cheap shot — with potentially profound implications for patients, medicine and future dementia research — is on the money.

Rodeo Drive site is about twice the size of Hermès’s current location a few doors down

Hermès is the mystery buyer behind the largest-ever retail real-estate acquisition in Beverly Hills, ending months of speculation over who now owns two adjoining properties on the city’s famed Rodeo Drive.

The French luxury-goods company shelled out a record $400 million for control of the buildings last summer. While the sale and the price were reported at the time, the identity of the buyer was never disclosed.

But people familiar with the matter said that Hermès acquired the storefronts currently occupied by Tom Ford, Moncler and Balenciaga.

It isn’t clear what Hermès plans to do with its purchase. It now controls the properties after buying an affiliate owned by the seller, Ireland-based ECA Capital Ltd. The roughly 25,000 square-foot location is at 338 North Rodeo Dr.

If Hermès decides to open a store at the property, it might have to wait a while. The current tenants’ leases still have years to run. But if it does so, it would have a store about twice the size of its current location a few doors down.

The purchase is the most expensive retail real-estate acquisition in Beverly Hills since at least the early 2000s, according to data tracked by real-estate firm CBRE that excludes land purchases.

Luxury retailers, flush with cash and eager to control their own real estate, have been snapping up prestigious addresses in major cities across the globe.

The parent companies of fashion houses including Gucci and Cartier have spent hundreds of millions of dollars buying their brands’ storefronts on streets including Fifth Avenue in New York, Avenue Montaigne in Paris and London’s New Bond Street.

Luxury giant LVMH has spent billions over several decades assembling an extensive portfolio worldwide. The owner of Louis Vuitton and Dior now controls a chunk of Rodeo Drive.

Hermès owns its store’s current location on Rodeo Drive, which it bought about 15 years ago. The luxury retailer rents many of its stores’ other locations, including its New York City flagship on Madison Avenue.

Many other retailers have been shrinking their U.S. footprints, looking to save on rent and because e-commerce has prompted some to display and stock smaller inventories in-store while selling other items online.

But luxury retailers have ample cash on their balance sheets to spend on real estate, even though luxury sales slowed in recent years. Many have expanded the sizes of their flagships.

“What you see now on Rodeo Drive is not only a commitment by the luxury brands that are able to buy their real estate, but you’re seeing the buildings get much bigger,” said Jay Luchs, a vice chairman at Newmark who brokered the 338 North Rodeo Dr. transaction.

A smaller percentage of luxury goods are sold online than other types of retail, prompting fashion houses to seek more space to showcase their handbags and watches. Many retailers are also adding restaurants, bars and cafes to their stores as they compete for customers.

Competition for retail real estate in Beverly Hills has heated up since the pandemic, in part because luxury giants have been purchasing properties and leaving less space available for everyone else. Asking rent prices have grown nearly 50% since 2019, according to CBRE, with one property leasing for a record-high annual rent of $1,380 a square foot at the end of last year.

Cain International, a London-based asset manager and developer, is trying to tap in to that demand with a 17.5-acre project under construction near Rodeo Drive. Known as One Beverly Hills, the $10 billion project is one of the most expensive under way in the U.S.

Outerwear retailer Canada Goose and jeweler Graff are among the tenants to have recently signed new deals in Beverly Hills. There is only one vacant storefront currently available for long-term lease on Rodeo Drive, said CBRE senior vice president Houman Mahboubi.

The squeeze for space is getting so intense that retailers whose leases aren’t expiring until 2029 or 2030 have already started negotiating renewals with their landlords, he said. These discussions typically happen six months to a year in advance.