A few weeks ago we wrote about an assessment of thinking on the role of the herpes simplex virus in Alzheimer's disease. (We have actually been writing about this for some time.) We noted that the connection is controversial, and it sparks emotional discussion among researchers. Well, there's some new fuel for the fire coming from Sweden.
The February 14 issue of the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia (the Journal of the Alzheimer's Association) carried the results of a study of about 265,000 subjects, age 50 and above, who were either diagnosed with either of two herpes simplex infections and/or were otherwise prescribed certain antiviral drugs targeting herpes simplex. In older adults, herpes simplex is commonly associated with ailments such as cold sores and shingles infection. The researchers were looking for a link between antiviral treatment and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease, hoping to show that these treatments would have a protective effect. Of course, the assumption going in was that herpes does have agency in the development of Alzheimer's disease, although not everyone fully embraces this.
Data about the subjects were derived from two Swedish nationwide databases: the National Patient Register and the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register. Data collected was from 2005 to 2017. Subjects who had received antiviral treatment had generally received acyclovir or valacyclovir.
The results? "Our findings together with previous reports suggest that antiviral treatment might reduce long‐term risk of dementia. In contrast, untreated herpes infection increases the subsequent dementia risk." Of course, they called for further study.
No comments:
Post a Comment