Herpes Virus May Be Involved In Alzheimer’s Disease: Study

Seems there is light at the end of the tunnel for scientists researching on Alzheimer’s Disease.

As per a new study published in the journal Neuron, the Herpes virus might play a role in Alzheimer’s.

The researchers found that the viruses, particularly the types that infect humans during infancy and then become comatose for years, interact with the genes that cause Alzheimer’s. These viruses might then influence the manner in which Alzheimer’s develops further.

The researchers have clearly mentioned that there is no evidence to prove that these viruses cause Alzheimer’s.

But that the Herpes viruses might generate a response in the immune system which in turn might increase the collection of a protein called ‘amyloid’ in the brain.

This protein forms a cluster in the significant part of the Alzheimer’s plaques.

Plaques and tangles are the primary elements responsible for death of the cells and loss of tissue in the brain of a patient suffering from Alzheimer’s. Plaques are unusual clumps of ‘beta-amyloid’ protein that builds up between two nerve cells.

Researchers believe that the results of this study could help pave way for better treatment options for the disease.

But it seems most of the other researchers who are working on Alzheimer’s aren’t sure what to make of this discovery.

The common debate asks one pertinent question: Are the large number of Herpes viruses found in the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient a result of the disease itself or are these viruses present as mute spectators?

Speaking to The New York Times, Dr. Lennart Mucke, Director of the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease in San Francisco said:

The new study is impressive and very well designed. But there have been many speculations and even outright claims that infections contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. None of them has held up after rigorous cause-effect evaluations.

Dr. Lennart Mucke

Experts feel it will take more research and studies to convince the medical community of this virus and Alzheimer’s theory.

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