By RUTH SUNDERLAND[](https://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=ruthiesun&tw_p=followbutton)
Published: 02:31 BST, 30 March 2025 | Updated: 02:33 BST, 30 March 2025
British drugs giant GSK is launching a ground-breaking investigation that could save millions of Britons from developing dementia, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The trailblazing study will use the data from up to 1.4million [NHS](/news/nhs/index.html) patients to test whether its shingles vaccine reduces the risk of the degenerative disease, which is the country's biggest killer, claiming 75,000 lives every year.
The four-year project will seek to confirm mounting evidence the Shingrix vaccine – already available on the NHS – cuts the risk of dementia by up to 27 per cent compared with an older shingles vaccine, Zostervax, which also has a protective effect.
Tony Wood, GSK's chief scientific officer, said: 'We hope this will not only answer key questions to help reduce dementia risk but also pave the way for future research.'
Experts are excited by the development because so far there is no cure or effective treatment for dementia.
Existing blockbuster drugs lecanemab and donanemab are not considered cost-effective for use on the NHS.
If the Shingrix jab was confirmed to offer protection, it would mean millions of older adults could benefit from a vaccine already administered through the NHS.
It has been offered since 2023 to everyone turning 65 to protect against the varicella zoster virus, which leads to about 50,000 cases of shingles every year.
British drugs giant GSK is launching a ground-breaking investigation that could save millions of Britons from developing dementia
Pictured: Tony Wood, GSK's chief scientific officer in San Francisco in 2019
Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Government's Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation, said there were already plans to extend the roll-out of the shingles jab to all over-60s.
But he added: 'If there is found to be a dementia-preventing effect, that might make it cost-effective to give the vaccine even earlier.'
Now the biggest study yet is to be launched, comparing the number of dementia diagnoses in people who have had the jab with those in a similarly aged group who have not.
Dr Sheona Scales, director of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said: 'It's not yet clear how the shingles vaccine might influence dementia risk, whether through reducing inflammation, boosting overall immune health or other factors,' she said.
'This study could help uncover these mechanisms and provide insights into whether the vaccine may help delay the onset of dementia.'
At the moment, two doses of Shingrix are offered to adults who turned 65 after September 1, 2023.
The trailblazing study will use the data from up to 1.4million NHS patients to test whether its shingles vaccine reduces the risk of the degenerative disease (stock photo)
The project will seek to confirm if the Shingrix vaccine cuts the risk of dementia compared with an older shingles vaccine, Zostervax, which also has a protective effect (file photo)
Because of supply issues, those who turned 65 before then become eligible only when they turn 70.
This has created an ideal scenario for research: two groups of people of similar ages, one of which has received the jab while the other has not.
Mr Wood said: 'The UK's unique national-scale health data resources provide a significant opportunity for cutting-edge research.'
Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at Alzheimer's Society said: 'The age cut-offs have produced a large cohort of individuals whose data can be analysed like a clinical trial.'