HEALTH / COMMON MEDS THAT MAY LOWER YOUR DEMENTIA

Some vaccines, along with heart medications and other drugs, appear to have a protective benefit. 

GUEST BLOG / By Dana G. Smith, New York Times, Health Reporter--Getting your annual flu shot may come with a significant side benefit: helping to protect you from dementia. 

--Flu Vaccines

Numerous studies have found that older adults who were vaccinated against the flu had a lower risk of developing dementia in the years that followed than those who had not been vaccinated. In one study, the risk was as much as 40 percent lower. 

Research published earlier this month has bolstered that evidence, showing that older adults who were given a higher dose of the flu vaccine — commonly recommended for people 65 and over — had an even lower probability of developing Alzheimer’s disease compared with those who received the standard dose. 

Other common medications have also been found to decrease people’s risk of dementia. The challenge for scientists, though, is determining whether the drugs are directly benefiting the brain or whether there’s just a correlation between them. 

The flu vaccine is a good example of this. “People who tend to get vaccinated are the people who go to see a doctor, and then they follow the directions to take their blood pressure pills and cholesterol pills, which also reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s,” said Dr. Paul Schulz, a professor and neurologist at UTHealth Houston who led the new study. 

But because everybody in that study got an influenza vaccine, and the higher dose offered more protection, the findings suggest there is something about the vaccine itself, rather than people’s behavior, that lowered the risk, Dr. Schulz said. 

Here are a few more drugs that scientists are investigating for their potential to reduce dementia risk. 

--Shingles Vaccine

Excitement is especially high for the shingles vaccine, which has some of the strongest research behind it. Studies from around the world have found that people who received the vaccine had a lower risk of developing dementia, often by about 15 to 20 percent. Much of the research has been done on an older form of the vaccine, but at least one study indicated that a newer version more commonly prescribed in the United States, called Shingrix, could offer an even greater benefit. It (along with the flu vaccine) appears to be especially protective against dementia in women. 

Researchers say they’re relatively confident that the vaccine itself is providing protection because its initial rollout in a few countries created a sort of natural clinical trial. 

“I think at this stage, it’s a really compelling body of evidence of a cause and effect relationship,” said Dr. Pascal Geldsetzer, an epidemiologist at the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at Stanford who conducted some of the research. 

Here’s more on our process. 

There are a couple of theories about how vaccines might reduce the risk of dementia. One is that by protecting people from getting an infection, a vaccine prevents the immune response and especially the inflammation that comes with it. (Inflammation is a known contributor to dementia.) This may be especially relevant for shingles, since the virus initially replicates in the nervous system and can cause inflammation in the brain. 

 It’s also possible that the vaccines themselves might alter the immune system in a way that directly affects, and protects, the brain. 

 --Cholesterol and Blood Pressure Medications 

Several studies have found that both statins and drugs that treat hypertension are associated with a roughly 10 to 15 percent reduced risk of dementia. 

Many researchers think these drugs protect people’s brains by helping to manage blood pressure and cholesterol, both of which are risk factors for dementia. However, as with vaccines, people who consistently take their prescribed medications may have other healthy behaviors that could also lower their risk. 

Most of the research is observational, but there have been a few clinical trials that have tried to more directly investigate the connection between these drugs and dementia. The results have been mixed. A 2025 trial from China found that people with high blood pressure who were given a medication for hypertension had lower rates of dementia four years later. But a 2009 trial that tested statins in people who had vascular disease or were at high risk for it did not find a benefit in preventing cognitive decline. 

There’s also an open question over whether people who don’t need the medications for heart health could take them for dementia prevention, said Geoffrey Joyce, a professor of pharmaceutical and health economics at the University of Southern California. There are two large trials currently investigating whether statins might be useful in this way. 

--Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

Since inflammation in the brain is a known contributor to Alzheimer’s, it’s conceivable that anti-inflammatory medications could provide protection by helping to reduce it in the brain as well as systemically. A recent large review paper listed anti-inflammatories as one of the classes of drugs that may reduce dementia risk. 

 David Llewellyn, a professor of clinical epidemiology and digital health at the University of Exeter Medical School in England who led the review, said he thought “the anti-inflammatory story” made sense scientifically. 

But studies looking at the connection, especially with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, have been mixed. Some have found a lower risk of dementia from ibuprofen use, while others showed no connection or even an increased risk. And a Cochrane review published in 2020 concluded there was “no evidence to support the use” of aspirin or other NSAIDs to prevent dementia. 

--Diabetes Drugs 

Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of dementia, and a few drugs for Type 2 diabetes, including metformin and a class of medication called sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, appear to modestly lower that risk, though some studies don’t show an effect. 

 The potential benefit is thought to largely stem from the medications’ ability to help control insulin and blood sugar levels, which affect brain cell health. There is also some evidence, mostly from animals, that the drugs help to reduce inflammation and may even lower levels of amyloid beta in the brain, a key protein involved in Alzheimer’s. 

 Clinical trials investigating whether these diabetes drugs can be beneficial in dementia are ongoing. A few observational studies have also found that people with diabetes who took the newer GLP-1 medications had a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s, even by as much as 45 percent, according to some reports. 

Based on that evidence, and research in mice showing the drugs can reverse cognitive impairment, two clinical trials recently tested whether a pill form of Ozempic could also help slow cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer’s. But the trials found no benefit, and excitement about the use of GLP-1s as an Alzheimer’s treatment has died down significantly. More research is needed to determine if they indeed lower the risk of dementia. 

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Dana G. Smith is a Times reporter covering personal health, particularly aging and brain health.

AMERICANA / WHAT'S THE IN THE PRICE OF A GALLON OF GAS

As US gas prices climb, politicians are looking at ways to lower them. An economist breaks down what does − and doesn’t − move the number on the sign at the gas station. 

Guest Blog /By Robert I. Harris, Georgia Institute of Technology via The Conversation U.S.--The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects nationwide retail gasoline prices to average near US$4.30 a gallon for April 2026 – the highest monthly average of the year. The political response has been familiar. Georgia has suspended its state gas tax, other states are weighing their own tax holidays, and the White House has issued a temporary waiver of a law known as the Jones Act in hopes of moving more domestic fuel to East Coast ports. 

As an energy economist, I am often asked about what contributes to gas prices and what different policies can do to affect them. 

The price of a retail gallon of gas is the sum of four things: the cost of crude oil, refining, distribution and marketing, and taxes. 

 In nationwide figures from January 2026, crude oil accounted for about 51% of the pump price, refining roughly 20%, distribution and marketing about 11% and taxes about 18%. That mix shifts with conditions: When crude oil prices spike, that can drive more than 60% of the price; when the price drops, taxes and logistics are larger shares of the cost. 

Crude oil is the biggest ingredient 

Because the price of crude oil is the largest element, most of the price at the pump is derived from the global oil market. 

Usually, big swings in crude prices come mainly from shifts in global demand and expectations – not from supply disruptions, according to widely cited research in 2009 by the economist Lutz Kilian. 

But what is happening in early 2026 with the war in Iran is one of the exceptions: a classic supply shock. Severe disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on Middle East oil infrastructure have taken millions of barrels a day off the global market. 

Most drivers generally can’t quickly reduce how much they drive or how much gas they use when prices rise, so gasoline demand doesn’t change much in the short run. That means a jump in crude costs tends to result in people paying more rather than driving less. 

 

California gasoline and diesel prices

Refining, regulations and the California puzzle 

Refining turns crude into gasoline at industrial scale. The U.S. doesn’t have a single gasoline market, though. Roughly a quarter of U.S. gasoline is a cleaner-burning blend of petroleum-derived chemicals called “reformulated gasoline,” which is required in urban areas across 17 states and the District of Columbia to reduce smog. 

California uses an even stricter formulation that few out-of-state refineries make. California is also geographically isolated: No pipelines bring gasoline in from other U.S. refining regions. 

California’s gasoline prices have long run above the national average, explained in part by higher state taxes and stricter environmental rules. But since a refinery fire in Torrance, California, in 2015 reduced production capacity, the state’s prices have been about 20 to 30 cents a gallon higher than what those factors would indicate. 

Energy economist and University of California, Berkeley, professor Severin Borenstein has called this the “mystery gasoline surcharge” and attributes it to the fact that there isn’t as much competition between refineries or gas stations in California as in other states. California’s own Division of Petroleum Market Oversight says the surcharge cost the state’s drivers about $59 billion from 2015 to 2024. It’s not exactly clear who is getting that money, but it could be gas stations themselves or refineries, through complex contracts with gas stations. 

Getting the gas into your car 

The distribution and marketing category covers the costs of everything involved in getting the gasoline from the refinery gate to your tank. 

Gasoline moves by pipeline, ship, rail and truck to wholesale terminals, and then by local delivery truck to service stations. 

At the retailer’s end, the key factors are station rent and labor, the cost to buy gasoline in bulk to be able to sell it, credit card fees of as much as 6 to 10 cents a gallon at current prices, and franchise fees paid to the national brand, such as Sunoco or ExxonMobil, for permission to put their branding on the gas station. 

Most gas station operators net only a few cents per gallon on fuel itself – which is why many gas stations are really convenience stores with pumps out front. Borenstein and some of his collaborators have also documented that retail gas prices rise quickly when wholesale costs climb but fall slowly when wholesale costs drop. 

The question of gas tax holidays 

The federal government charges a tax on fuel, of 18.4 cents a gallon for gasoline and 24.3 cents a gallon for diesel. States charge their own taxes, ranging from 70.9 cents a gallon for gas in California to 8.95 cents in Alaska. 

When gas prices rise, many politicians start talking about temporarily suspending their state’s gas tax. That does reduce prices, but not as much as politicians – or consumers – might hope. 

Research on past gas tax holidays has found that consumers get about 79% of the reduction in gas taxes. That means oil companies and fuel retailers keep about one-fifth of the tax cut for themselves rather than passing that savings to the public. 

Gas tax holidays also reduce funding for what the taxes are designed to pay for, typically roads and bridges. That pushes road and bridge upkeep costs onto future drivers and general taxpayers. 

There is an additional problem, too: Taxes on gasoline are supposed to charge drivers for some of the costs their driving imposes on everyone else – carbon emissions, local air pollution, congestion and crashes. But Borenstein has found that U.S. fuel tax levels are already far below the true cost to society. Removing the tax on drivers effectively raises the costs for everyone else. 

The Jones Act: A small number that adds up 

The 1920 Jones Act is a federal law that requires cargo moving between U.S. ports to travel on vessels built and registered in the U.S., owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed primarily by U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Of the world’s 7,500 oil tankers, only 54 meet this requirement. Only 43 of these can transport refined fuels such as gasoline. 

So, despite significant refining capacity on the Gulf Coast, some U.S. gasoline is exported overseas even as the Northeast imports fuel, in part reflecting the relatively high cost of moving fuel between U.S. ports. 

Economists Ryan Kellogg and Rich Sweeney estimate that the law raises East Coast gasoline prices by about a penny and a half per gallon on average, costing drivers roughly $770 million a year. In light of the war’s effect on gas prices, the Trump administration has temporarily suspended the Jones Act requirements – an action more commonly taken when hurricanes knock out Gulf Coast refineries and pipeline networks. 

What moves the number 

The result of all these factors is that the price that drivers see at the pump mostly reflects the global price of crude, plus a stack of domestic costs, only some of which are inefficient. 

Tax holidays give a partial, short-lived rebate. Jones Act waivers trim pennies, though permanent repeal may cause more fundamental changes, such as reduced rail and truck transport of all goods, which could lower costs, emissions and infrastructure damage associated with cargo transportation. Harmonizing fuel blends across states and seasons may lower prices somewhat, but likely at the expense of increased emissions. 

Ultimately, the best protection against oil price shocks is a more efficient gas-burning vehicle, or one that doesn’t burn gasoline at all. 

In the meantime, the best I can offer as an economist is clarity about what that $4.30 actually buys. 

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Robert I. Harris is an Assistant Professor of Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology