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Published on Leave a comment on Exercising After Getting Vaccine Boosts Antibodies

There is something easy you can do to make flu or COVID-19 vaccines that you receive even more effective. Get some exercise after the jab and the antibodies your bodies produce in the following month will increase. It's a way to get an extra immune boost.

How much exercise? Iowa State Univ. researchers found that 90 minutes of light to moderate exercise (e.g. exercise bike or brisk walk) effective in boosting antibody production, but no benefit from 45 minutes of exercise or no exercise after vaccination.

The exercise should be started soon after getting the vaccination (in the study it was 30 minutes after getting vaccinated). By the way, the exercise did not increase vaccine side-effects.

From Science Daily: Exercise post-vaccine bumps up antibodies, new study finds

Researchers at Iowa State University found 90 minutes of mild- to moderate-intensity exercise directly after a flu or COVID-19 vaccine may provide an extra immune boost. ...continue reading "Exercising After Getting Vaccine Boosts Antibodies"

Published on Leave a comment on The Flu Vaccine is Linked to a Lower Risk of Developing Alzheimer’s Disease

Fabulous news for those persons wanting to reduce their risk of Alzheimer's disease as they age - get a flu vaccine, especially annually. A recent large study found that with each annual vaccine received in adults 65 years and older, the protective effect increases. That's it! So simple.

The study authors compared 935,887 flu-vaccinated patients and 935,887 non-vaccinated patients. At the start of the study, no one had an Alzheimer's diagnosis. They found a 40% lower risk of an Alzheimer's diagnosis in those receiving flu vaccines compared to individuals not receiving a flu vaccine in the following 4 years.

Other studies have had similar findings, as well as that getting other vaccines in adulthood also reduce the risk of dementia, such as pneumonia, tetanus, polio, and herpes vaccines. Current thinking is that this protective effect from vaccines is due to their immunological effects - that they boost the immune system in a good way.

From Science Daily: Flu vaccination linked to 40% reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease

People who received at least one influenza vaccine were 40% less likely than their non-vaccinated peers to develop Alzheimer's disease over the course of four years, according to a new study from UTHealth Houston. ...continue reading "The Flu Vaccine is Linked to a Lower Risk of Developing Alzheimer’s Disease"

Published on Leave a comment on Annual Flu Vaccine Reduces Risk of Severe COVID-19 Effects

Something protective that we all can do! A large study of patients found that getting an annual flu shot appears to provide some protection from severe COVID-19 effects.

The study suggested that the annual flu vaccine reduces the risks of stroke, sepsis, and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in persons with COVID-19. These patients are also less likely to visit the emergency department and to be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in persons with COVID-19.

The Univ. of Miami researchers looked at medical records of 74,754 persons throughout the world with COVID-19. Patients either received a flu shot within the 6 months to 2 weeks before receiving a COVID-19 diagnosis, or no flu shot.

Why is this occurring? The researchers propose a number of reasons for the protective effect, including that perhaps the flu vaccine stimulates the activation of natural killer cells (these cells are decreased in moderate and severe COVID-19 cases).

From Science Daily: Flu shot protects against severe effects of COVID-19, study finds

In a newly published study, physician-scientists at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have shown that the flu vaccine may provide vital protection against COVID-19. ...continue reading "Annual Flu Vaccine Reduces Risk of Severe COVID-19 Effects"

Published on Leave a comment on Flu and Pneumonia Vaccinations Linked To a Lower Alzheimer’s Disease Risk

Could our risk of getting Alzheimer's disease be lowered by something as simple as getting flu and pneumonia vaccines? Two large observational studies suggest just that.

The studies, which were presented at this year's Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC), found that: getting a flu vaccine (with more than one flu shot over the years even better), getting the flu vaccines at a younger age, and additionally getting the pneumonia vaccine between the ages of 65 and 75 years were all associated with a lowered risk of Alzheimer's disease. It's as if they somehow were brain protective.

Excerpts from Medscape: Flu, Pneumonia Vaccination Tied to Lower Dementia Risk

Vaccinations against influenza and pneumonia may help protect against Alzheimer's disease (AD), two large observational studies suggest.

In a cohort study of more than 9000 older adults, receiving a single influenza vaccination was associated with a 17% lower prevalence of AD compared with not receiving the vaccine. In addition, for those who were vaccinated more than once over the years, there was an additional 13% reduction in AD incidence.  ...continue reading "Flu and Pneumonia Vaccinations Linked To a Lower Alzheimer’s Disease Risk"

Published on Leave a comment on Antibiotics, Flu Vaccines, and Gut Bacteria

A really interesting study found that in humans, taking antibiotics (which reduces the gut bacteria) may result in the flu vaccine not being as effective as in people who did not take antibiotics. An earlier similar study had found that this was true for mice, which is why the researchers did the study on humans.

The Stanford University and Emory University researchers studied healthy people who had recent (in last few years) flu vaccinations and those who hadn't had a flu vaccine for several years prior to the study. Some individuals took 5 days of broad spectrum antibiotics, and on day 4 received a flu vaccine, while others did not take antibiotics, but did receive the flu vaccine on day 4.

Not surprisingly: The antibiotics lowered the gut-bacterial population by 10,000-fold. While month by month there was increasing recovery, the resulting loss of overall diversity was detectable for up to one year after the antibiotics were taken. Keep in mind that they found that: "Notably, species richness and biodiversity were not fully recovered at 6 months, indicating long-lasting loss of unique bacterial species, consistent with previous studies." [BOTTOM LINE: Only take antibiotics when necessary.]

Interestingly, after antibiotic use, the researchers found other changes besides an alteration in gut bacteria populations. They also found changes within the immune system which resulted in an inflammatory state, which was due to "impairments in bile acid metabolism by the gut flora". In other words, taking antibiotics has a number of effects beyond treating an infection (the reason they were taken).

By the way, those who had taken flu vaccines in prior years had much better responses to the vaccines - they only had a minimal impact on vaccine response, even though they took antibiotics, than those who had not. Those who had not received flu vaccines or the flu in recent years had "low preexisting immunity", and taking the antibiotics (which resulted in loss of gut bacterial species) impaired their antibody response to the flu  vaccine. The researchers said: "The results of this study are consistent with the concept of immune responses in adults being largely determined by immune history and resilient to transient changes in the microbiome."

From Medical Xpress: Individual response to flu vaccine influenced by gut microbes   ...continue reading "Antibiotics, Flu Vaccines, and Gut Bacteria"