{
  "id": 15926392,
  "title": "Tuberculosis vaccine's link to reduced dementia risk gains mechanistic support",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/tuberculosis-vaccines-link-to-reduced-dementia-risk-gains-mechanistic",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-21T18:00:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-tuberculosis-vaccine-link-dementia-gains.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have discovered that a tuberculosis vaccine called Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) may reduce the risk of dementia in mice. The study, published in Science Advances, found that mice genetically engineered to have dementia symptoms and given the BCG vaccine showed less evidence of tau tangles in their brains, reduced immune cell activation and lower rates of memory loss compared to unvaccinated mice. The researchers believe that BCG's immune-stimulating properties, known as \"trained immunity,\" may be responsible for these protective effects. In the future, this could potentially lead to new methods for preventing Alzheimer's disease.",
  "summary": "Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), a vaccine widely used to prevent tuberculosis and treat bladder cancer, may also have properties that reduce the risk for dementia, according to new findings in a study of mice. BCG is a live, weakened vaccine made from an altered strain of the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis.",
  "key_points": [
    "BCG vaccine linked to reduced dementia risk in mice study",
    "Mice with dementia symptoms showed less tau tangles after BCG",
    "BCG's immune-stimulating properties may cause protective effects"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}