Researchers believe that those who contract herpes and herpes viruses increase their chances of contracting the lethal disease later in life. Herpes’ link to the risk of fatal disease has emerged in Alzheimer’s disease research.
THE COMMON POINT OF Herpes VIRUS AND ALZHEIMER!
For someone with the virus that causes herpes, blisters can reappear anywhere on their face at any point in their life. Researchers have discovered an important link between the herpes virus, also known as herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), and cognitive decline.
They said there was “increasing evidence” to suggest that the common virus plays a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease, which gradually decreases brain function, affects millions of people all over the world and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide.
30 YEARS OF RESEARCH
The 30-year research project by Professor Ruth Itzhaki and her team investigating the viral link to Alzheimer’s disease revealed that HSV-1 is present in the brains of many elderly people.
Researchers from the Oxford Institute on Population Aging, Tufts University in the US, and the University of Manchester found that these adults had more abnormal tau protein in their brains than adults who did not have the virus. Tau proteins are microtubules that transport nutrients from one part of the brain to another.
Abnormal or amorphous tau proteins cannot do their job properly, so parts of the brain are deprived of vital nutrients. Having too much amorphous tau protein is thought to trigger Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists believe that the more cold sores a person has, the more likely they are to develop abnormal tau proteins, and therefore the higher the risk of Alzheimer’s.