Herpes zoster, antiviral therapy, and Alzheimer's disease: Turning association into an actionable prevention pathway

Yang and Jiang synthesize evidence linking varicella-zoster virus exposure to Alzheimer's disease risk and lay out a clinically intuitive pathway from infection to intervention, spanning antiviral treatment and herpes zoster vaccination. The review is timely because it highlights potentially modifiable touchpoints in routine care for older adults. Building on their work, this commentary raises one pragmatic question: what additional evidence would most efficiently translate these associations into targeted, implementable prevention strategies-clarifying when risk is most actionable, which intervention features matter most, and which subgroups may benefit most?