Thursday, November 1, 2007

I forget... when did I last have a cold sore?

The BBC online news source published an article on a Manchester University research team that has found preliminary evidence linking herpes simplex virus-1 with Alzheimers.

They gave some evidence about people with Alzheimers having a 70% incidence of HSV-1 (but didn't state whether that percentage was statistically significant in comparison with non-Alzheimers populations), and they said something about a " 'dramatic' increase " in beta amyloid protein levels. Beta amyloids form plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer's.

The scientists went as far as saying: "In the future - although it is a long way off - people could even be immunised against the virus which could help protect people against Alzheimer's."

Concerns with, I think, rightfully placed public "scepticism" were expressed, too: "We need to carry out much more work into this, but the problem is people are quite sceptical of a viral link."

so in the future if they were to prove and use this link to diagnose alzheimbers, what would patients say in response to relevant signs and symptoms? "i think i had a cold sore before, but I can't remember..."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7071576.stm
Full Link^

-Jessie

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