Abstract: “Strong evidence has emerged recently for the concept that herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) is a major risk for Alzheimer’s disease. This concept proposes that latent HSV1 in brain of carriers of the type 4 allele of the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE-ε4) is reactivated intermittently by events such as immunosuppression, peripheral infection, and inflammation, the consequent damage accumulating, and culminating eventually in the development of Alzheimer’s. Population data to investigate this epidemiologically, e.g., to find if subjects treated with antivirals might be protected from developing dementia—are available in Taiwan, from the National Health Insurance Research Database, in which 99.9% of the population has been enrolled. This is being extensively mined for information on microbial infections and disease. Three publications have now appeared describing data on the development of senile dementia, and the treatment of those with marked overt signs of disease caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV), or by HSV. The striking results show that the risk of senile dementia is much greater in those who are HSV-seropositive than in seronegative subjects, and that antiviral treatment causes a dramatic decrease in number of subjects who later develop senile dementia. It should be stressed that these results apply only to those with severe cases of HSV1 or VZV infection, but when considered with the over 150 publications that strongly support an HSV1 role in Alzheimer’s, they greatly justify usage of antiherpes antivirals to treat Alzheimer’s. ….. Three indirectly relevant studies deal respectively with schizophrenia, relating to antiviral treatment to target HSV1, with the likelihood that HSV1 is a cause of fibromyalgia, and with fibromyalgia being associated with later development of senile dementia. Studies on the link between epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) are described also, as are the possible roles of APOE-ε4, HHV6 and HSV1 in epilepsy.”

Itzhaki RF: Corroboration of a Major Role for Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 in Alzheimer’s Disease. Frontiers in Aging Neurosci., 19 October 2018 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2018.00324

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