Note: This is not related to Herpes Simplex virus 1 (cold sores) or Herpes Simplex virus 2 (genital herpes).
Herpes viruses could lead to Alzheimer’s. At least that is what a recent American study from the Icahn School of Medicine indicates. This leads to new hopes for medicinal treatment of dementia.
Alzheimer’s disease is the common form of dementia. The symptoms include memory loss, language problems, disorientation, and personality changes.
The new research discovered that brains with Alzheimer’s have almost twice the amount of two different herpes types – called HHV-6A and HHV7 – compared to a healthy brain. According to scientists, this indicates a connection between herpes and Alzheimer’s – and perhaps that herpes can cause Alzheimer’s.
The American scientists have discovered that herpes viruses affect the brain’s ability to secrete the compound beta-amyloid – a waste product that builds up in Alzheimer’s patients and kill brain cells. Beta-amyloid exasperates Alzheimer’s disease.
What does the discovery mean?
According to the scientists, behind the study, their discovery could eventually lead to new treatment options. “These findings open the possibilities for new avenues in treating a disease, with which we have had hundreds of failed experiments,” says Sam Gandy, senior researcher behind the study, in a press release.
The scientists are still unable to answer whether the herpes virus is the primary cause of Alzheimer’s disease. However, according to the scientists, it is clear that the viruses at least affect the brain. The viruses disrupt the cellular network in the brain and speed up the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
The bad news
Even though the scientists believe the herpes virus plays an important role in the development of Alzheimer’s, it does not equate a treatment right now as HHV-6A is difficult to treat.
Furthermore, there is no functional method of testing for the virus in living people. The American team of scientists conducted their study on brains from deceased patients with Alzheimer's.
The scientists envision new possibilities
The scientists believe that we must develop new methods of detecting virus in living people. The next step for the American research team is to examine spinal fluid, in order to see if we can detect the two types of herpes viruses in the fluid.
The American scientists will also examine the viruses’ effects in greater detail, in order to ascertain which types of treatment may be available in the future.
Different types of herpes
Even if one has not had any symptoms of herpes infection, the virus will lay, latent, within the body for the rest of one’s life. In some viruses, the disease will periodically become active, but most will not experience any complications.
The majority of the British population carry HHV-6B – which is not one of the two viruses linked to Alzheimer’s. HHV-6B is transmitted through saliva. In total, there are nine different types of herpes, and only two of these have been linked to Alzheimer’s.
