一种旨在预防疼痛皮疹的药物是否也能在我们变老时保护我们的大脑？迹象令人鼓舞——但尚未确凿。然而，这已经足以推动带状疱疹疫苗需求的激增。当剑桥的一位50岁市场营销和品牌专业人士珍妮去年接种带状疱疹疫苗时，她脑中想的竟是另一种完全不同的疾病。目睹她四位祖父母中有三位死于痴呆症，并承受由此带来的痛苦，她希望避免同样的命运。她希望带状疱疹疫苗可能有所帮助。
Could a drug intended to prevent painful rashes also protect our brains as we get older? The signs are promising – but not conclusive. Yet that’s enough to be driving a boom in shingles jabs When Jenny, a 50-year-old marketing and branding professional from Cambridge, went for her shingles vaccine last year, an entirely different disease was on her mind. Having witnessed three of her four grandparents succumb to dementia, with all the distress that brought, she wants to avoid the same fate. She hopes the shingles vaccine might help.
珍妮远非个例。英国高街药店报告称，带状疱疹疫苗的需求正在上升，至少部分增长源于人们对痴呆症的担忧多于对带状疱疹的恐惧。虽然该疫苗对部分人群在NHS下是免费的，但大多数65岁以下人群需要支付约450英镑完成全程两剂接种。
Jenny is far from alone. Britain’s high street chemists have reported a rise in demand for the shingles vaccine, at least some of which is driven by people more worried about dementia than shingles. And while the vaccine is free for some on the NHS, most under-65s pay around £450 for the full two doses.
