Potential Break Through in Dementia Treatment

Inside Health

BBC

Health & Fitness, Science

4.4 • 575 Ratings

🗓️ 26 August 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dementia is now the UK’s leading cause of death - but could a vaccine one day help prevent it? New data from Wales suggests the shingles vaccine is linked to a 20% lower risk of developing dementia in later life, adding to evidence that viral infections can influence brain health.

Dr. Pascal Geldsetzer, Assistant Prof of Medicine at Stanford University discusses his findings and the further evidence required to prove this link, along with Prof Tara Spires-Jones, Group Leader in the UK Dementia Research Institute.

The UK has begun using the world’s first gonorrhoea vaccine - though it was originally developed for meningitis. With antibiotic-resistant strains increasing, we speak to Dr Suneeta Soni about why gonorrhoea has been so hard to target with vaccines.

At the Bristol Robotics Lab, engineers are creating devices to support mobility in older age. James meets Jonathan Rossner and tries out “The Right Trousers” - an inflatable exoskeleton designed to help people walk and to strengthen their muscles.

Presenter: James Gallagher Producers: Debbie Kilbride, Tom Bonnett & Minnie Harrop Editor: Ilan Goodman Production coordinator: Ishmael Soriano This episode was produced in partnership with The Open University.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, you're about to listen to a BBC podcast, and I'm Ed Gamble, host of another BBC podcast,
0:05.4	The Traitors Uncloaked. But my show is available only on BBC Sounds, just like Ellis and John's
0:10.6	Saturday bonus episodes, the Pop Top Ten podcast with Scott Mills and Ryland, and comedy specials
0:16.2	from the likes of Harriet Kemsley, Susie Ruffel and Rommas Shranger Nathan. However, and maybe I'm biased, it's really all about the traitors uncloked.
0:24.3	So for a whole bunch of exclusive scoops and podcasts, listen only on BBC Sounds.
0:30.8	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:34.4	Hello there and welcome to the Inside Health podcast. I'm James Gallagher. This week I'm going
0:39.6	to try on some robotic trousers. Yes, we're going full Wallace and Grommet to see if technology
0:45.3	can keep us living independently into old age. We'll also be finding out why gonorrhea is
0:51.3	becoming super gonorrhea. What makes it so good at resisting antibiotics
0:55.6	and is the sexually transmitted infection about to become untreatable.
1:01.3	But first, do we already have a vaccine that can help prevent dementia?
1:06.9	Because there are hints, the answer is yes.
1:09.2	Multiple studies now are suggesting the shingles vaccine can reduce cases or at least delay the onset of the disease.
1:16.3	So we're going to look at the evidence today, see how the vaccine might be working in the brain, and figure out whether we should be excited about it.
1:23.8	So to start, let's chat with Pascal Geldsutzer, who's assistant professor at Stanford School
1:29.5	of Medicine and is at the cutting edge of this field. Pascal, thank you for coming on. And can we
1:35.1	start by talking through how a vaccine rollout in Wales gave us these tantalizing clues about dementia?
1:42.0	Yeah, absolutely. It's a fascinating opportunity that was presented to us
1:46.0	by this vaccine rollout in Wales and the NHS more generally. So usually we have the problem that
1:52.6	when we want to get at the effect of vaccines on health outcomes, that those who go get vaccinated
1:58.5	are quite different to those who don't. They have got different
	...

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