A small study has rekindled interest in BCG, the century-old tuberculosis vaccine already used in immunotherapy for bladder cancer. Researchers observed that this vaccine could modulate the immune system in a way that delays the appearance of markers associated with Alzheimer's.
Twenty elderly volunteers received two BCG injections and were then followed for a year. In those who did not show biological signs of Alzheimer's, scientists observed a significant decrease in beta-amyloid in the cerebrospinal fluid and a prolonged activation of immune cells linked to the central nervous system. Participants already affected by Alzheimer's did not show this decrease, even though their immune response to the vaccine was stronger.
These results are part of a broader trend: several vaccines appear to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's, notably those against shingles, whose virus can promote the accumulation of tau protein, and high-dose flu vaccines, whose protective effect increases with the intensity of immune stimulation.
The research remains preliminary, but it reinforces the idea that Alzheimer's could be as much a disease of the immune system as a pathology of protein deposits. Vaccines could therefore become modulators of brain aging, pending more robust clinical evidence.
 Sophie de Duiéry
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27/07/2026 | 
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