New Study Says Herpes May Double Risk of Dementia - LL

 https://www.sciencealert.com/herpes-virus-may-double-your-risk-of-dementia-study-finds 

New Study Says Herpes May Double Risk of Dementia

A new study examined more than 1,000 70-year olds in Sweden, and determined that having Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV-1), the same virus that causes cold sores, can double the risk of having dementia. Around 80% of adults in Sweden have been exposed to HSV-1 at some point. 

Currently, the main causes of Alzheimer’s disease (a type of dementia) are age and APOE-4, a genetic variant. The significance of this study is that it indicates that certain viruses could increase likelihood of future cognitive decline. This is in line with the theory that dementia could be an out-of-control immune response to certain antigens, which has been a lowly-regarded scientific theory since the early 1900s. However, there is research pointing in the direction of HSV-1: unusually high levels of the virus have been found in the brains of people who succumbed to Alzheimer’s. 

However, there isn’t enough substantive evidence to implicate HSV-1 in development of neurodegenerative diseases. Some research indicates the opposite, and some neuroscience research fails to include microbiology experts. 

-LL