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What causes Alzheimer's disease? The answer could be right under our nose, says expert professor Ruth Itzhaki. His latest article presents extensive research demonstrating that the herpes virus responsible for cold sores can also cause Alzheimer's disease – as well as new data showing that antiviral drugs significantly reduce the risk senile dementia in patients with severe herpes. Criticism in Frontiers in Neuring Science opens the seductive prospect of a simple and effective preventive treatment for one of humanity's most expensive disorders.
The HSV1 theory of Alzheimer's disease
Herpes viruses are the dreaded "gift that keeps on giving". They stay alive in our neurons and immune cells, reactivating and resurfacing in characteristic vesicles when we are under stress or disease. Most people are infected with herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV 1) by the time they reach advanced age.
But what happens to infected neurons in our brain during this reactivation?
"HSV1 could account for 50% or more of Alzheimer's disease cases," says Professor Itzhaki, who has been studying for a potential link for over 25 years at the University of Manchester.
HSV1 is better known as the cause of cold sores. Itzhaki has already shown that cold sores are more common in carriers of APOE-ε4, a variant of the gene that increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
"Our theory is that, in APOE-ε4 carriers, reactivation is more common or more damaging in HSV1-infected brain cells, resulting in the accumulation of damage leading to disease development. d & # 39; Alzheimer's. "
Prove the theory
Few countries collect the demographic data needed to test this theory – for example, whether antiviral treatments reduce the risk of dementia.
In Taiwan, however, researchers did exactly that. In this region, 99.9% of the population is registered in a national health insurance research database, which is extensively exploited for information on infections and microbial diseases. In 2017-2018, three studies were published describing Taiwanese data on the development of senile dementia – the main cause of which is Alzheimer's disease – and on the treatment of patients with obvious signs of infection by the HSV virus or the varicella-zoster virus (VZV, virus).
"The striking findings include evidence that the risk of senile dementia is much greater in people infected with HSV and that antiviral herpes treatment causes a dramatic decrease in the number of subjects severely affected by HSV1 who subsequently develop a dementia. "
Previous discoveries of the Itzhaki research group provide a mechanistic link that corroborates these epidemiological findings. They discovered that HSV1 causes protein deposits characteristic of Alzheimer's disease: "plaques" between neurons and "entanglements" within them.
"Viral DNA is found very specifically in the post-mortem brain tissue plaques of people with Alzheimer's disease. The major proteins of plaques and tangles also accumulate in cell cultures." infected with HSV1 – and antiviral drugs can prevent this. "
Towards a cure
"It should be noted that the results of these Taiwanese studies only apply to serious HSV1 (or VZV) infections, which are rare," admits Dr. Itzhaki. "Ideally, we would study rates of dementia in people who have contracted mild HSV1 infection, including cold sores (cold sores) or mild genital herpes, but they are much less likely to develop." 39, be documented. "
Although further work is needed to confirm and define a causal link between HSV1 infection and Alzheimer's disease, Itzhaki is excited about the treatment prospects.
"Considering that more than 150 publications strongly support the role of HSV1 in Alzheimer's disease, these findings from Taiwan greatly justify the use of herbal, safe, and well-tolerated antivirals to treat the condition." Alzheimer's disease.
"They also encourage the development of an anti-HSV1 vaccine, which would probably be the most effective treatment."
This echoes the worldwide increasing use of vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV) to prevent cervical cancer – another virus-disease link that has emerged during a similar research process.
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