In This Article
- What is HSV-1 and the Connection with Alzheimer’s Risk
- New Link Connects Herpes to Alzheimer’s
The new research revealed the unexpected link between Alzheimer’s disease and the herpes virus. Moreover, the antiviral treatment can lower the chances and may act as a potential preventative measure. This is not entirely fresh through the research, but before this, researchers had already revealed such information.
Two-thirds of the readers surely know the herpes feeling and what exactly it is. Large-scale American real-world data (RWD) has also shed light on the link between the infection of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and AD.
In simple words, the research shows that HSV-1 may induce changes in the brain cells that mirror the patient’s mind cells with Alzheimer’s, such as amyloid plaque-like structures and inflammation in the brain.
What is HSV-1 and the Connection with Alzheimer’s Risk
HSV-1 is a common neurotropic virus, so it can affect the cells that send and receive messages to and from the brain, which are the nerve cells. Many of us are surely the prey of this virus, causing the redness, stinging feeling, swelling, and redness on the lip.
It is a frustrating and, sometimes, embarrassing situation that lasts for a few days and may also go away on its own. The patient may think it a normal condition or a little discomfort for some days, but the latest studies have made clear its connection with Alzheimer’s disease.
The initial infection can cause a headache, mild fever, muscle aches, and an ulcer or something like that around the lips. The virus does not die in our body when the symptoms end, but the HSV-1 remains dominant in the body.
For some people with weak immune systems, the symptoms arise once again in the form of cold sores, but this is not for all people.
New Link Connects Herpes to Alzheimer’s
In the US, the large-scale studies by the researchers of Gilead Sciences, the pharmaceutical company, and the University of Washington, Seattle, explored the connection between these two diseases. Before this, multiple other researchers had revealed the same fact but with less evidence.
The analytics have worked with 344,628 individuals with Alzheimer’s and the same number of healthy people. All of them were above 50, and the researchers have studied the connection between HSV-1 and Alzheimer’s diagnoses mainly during the years from 2006 to 2021.
Nowadays, researchers are comparatively more uncomplicated and precise because experts utilize the power of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence. Research is not the only field made better with AI, but web solution owners are also integrating AI features into their systems to make them more efficient with the help of AI experts like Weborik Hub.
The studies show that people with the herpes virus have 80% more chances of Alzheimer’s development, and the decision has been taken on a very broad spectrum. The authors have provided the conclusion to the journal BMJ Open:
Findings from this large study implicate HSV-1 in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and highlight anti-herpetic therapies as potentially protective for Alzheimer’s and related dementia.
The herpes virus also has a connection with other diseases, but the research we are talking about purely discusses Alzheimer’s.
