Herpes viruses could be involved in Alzheimer's disease

Herpes viruses can contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease – and vaccination could help.

© Robert Kneschke – Fotolia.com

Mar. July 17, 2018

Nearly 30 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Despite great research efforts, however, it is still unclear why typical protein deposits in the brain arise. Based on recent studies, British scientists now suspect that herpes viruses could play an important role in this area.

People with severe herpes infection who were aggressively treated with antiviral medication were ten times less likely to develop dementia during a period of time. ten years. This is the result of a study conducted by Taiwanese epidemiologists, published in February in the journal Neurotherapeutics. Conversely, the study also showed that infection with the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) leads to an increased risk of dementia. That's what British scientists wrote in a commentary published in the journal Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. "This article and two others from various Taiwanese research groups provide the first evidence on a broad basis that there could be a causal relationship between the herpes virus and Alzheimer's disease," said Professor Ruth Itzhaki of the University of Manchester. Antiviral drugs can therefore be a safe and easy way to fight dementia. Maybe the disease can even be avoided in the future with a vaccine in childhood.

Many research studies on the main features of Alzheimer's disease – protein deposits in the form of so-called amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. By 1991, however, scientists discovered that HSV-1 is also present in the brain in many older people infected with the virus. In 1997, researchers also found that the presence of viruses in the brains of people with specific genetic factors may increase the risk of Alzheimer's. "In 2009, we were able to show that HSV is present in the amyloid plaques of patients with Alzheimer's disease," said Itzhaki. Scientists suspect that viruses in the brain are reactivated by certain events such as stress, immunosuppression or infections and inflammation in other areas. This could be the cause of Alzheimer's disease, at least in some people. HSV-1 is known as the trigger of cold sores and stays in the body for life.

HH

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