Selected publication milestones, not an exhaustive history or discovery priority claim.
1998 — 1998 SystEur reports a small randomized dementia-prevention signal for a BP regimen. Original PMID9802273.
2008 — 2008 HYVET lowersBP but not significant dementia over its early-terminated horizon. Original PMID18614402.
2016 — 2016 influenza/CKD observational protection extends beyond infection season. Original PMID26945371.
2018 — 2018 Taiwanese HZ/antiviral associations motivate prevention hypotheses. Original PMID29244265.
2019 — 2019 SPRINT separates positive MCI/composite outcomes from nonsignificant probable dementia. Original PMID30688979.
2020 — 2020 ASPREE aspirin finds no cognitive/dementia benefit. Original PMID32213642.
2022 — 2022 Welsh ordinary cohorts explicitly retain healthy-life-expectancy selection. Original PMID35434253.
2022 — 2022 UK overt-zoster/dementia association is null or inverse. Original PMID35170873.
2022 — 2022 neural cultures demonstrate VZV–HSV1 reactivation with AD-like markers. Original PMID35754275.
2024 — 2024 product-transition analysis reports more dementia-diagnosis-free time after RZV. Original PMID39053634.
2025 — 2025 Welsh birth-date natural experiment identifies a local live-vaccine causal signal. Original PMID40175543.
2025 — 2025 Australian eligibility design corroborates a positive diagnosis contrast. Original PMID40267506.
2025 — 2025 AS01-adjuvanted RSV/zoster cohorts suggest a possible immune pathway. Original PMID40562756.
2025 — 2025 randomized hypertension care lowers incident all-cause dementia. Original PMID40258956.
2026 — 2026 Canadian eligibility contrasts extend geography while separate uptake and interaction limits remain. Original PMID41579903.
2026 — 2026 nursing-facility RZV emulation retains residual negative-control confounding. Original PMID42296498.
2026 — 2026 quantitative reanalysis challenges implied causal magnitudes outside Wales. Original PMID42754179.
Resolve implausible international implied receipt effects and weak separate-survey first stages with individual-level local data.
Direct preventive efficacy of recombinant vaccination rather than ordinary vaccinee cohorts.
Biological onset versus delayed clinical diagnosis and competing-death effects.
Prespecified age/product/sex boundaries with formal interaction tests.
Separate infection suppression, heterologous immune effects and healthcare pathways.
Drug-specific clinical prevention rather than class transfer from surrogate or observational successes.
Combine an ethically designed randomized timing/product or vaccine-encouragement comparison within clinically permitted practice with adjudicated incident dementia, active comparators and competing-death analyses. Prespecify product, age and sex, assess baseline cognition and healthcare contacts, and separately reproduce eligibility estimates using individual uptake and counterfactual complier risks. A mechanistic substudy must distinguish viral reactivation from adjuvant immunity without replacing clinical endpoints.