Alzheimer's disease
is the most common among the dementia diseases. In recent years research has
increasingly indicated that there is a possible connection between infection
with a common herpes virus, herpes simplex virus type 1, and Alzheimer's
disease. A majority of the population carries this virus. After the
first infection the body carries the virus throughout your lifetime, and it can
reactivate now and then and cause typical mouth ulcer. The hypothesis which
links the herpes virus and Alzheimer's disease is based on that a weakened
immune system among the elderly creates opportunities for the virus to spread
further to the brain. There this can in turn start the process which
results in Alzheimer's disease.
This link has been
confirmed this link in two large epidemiological studies. In one study,
which is based on the Betula project, a study on ageing, memory and dementia,
the researchers show that a reactivated herpes infection doubled the risk of
developing Alzheimer's disease. This study had 3,432 participants who were
followed for 11.3 years on average. In another study, samples donated to
the Medical Biobank at Umeå University from 360 people with Alzheimer's disease
were examined and as many matched people who had not developed dementia.
The samples were taken on average 9.6 years before diagnosis. This study
showed an approximately doubled risk of developing Alzheimer's disease if the person
was a carrier of the herpes virus.
No comments:
Post a Comment