Cold Sore Virus Linked To Alzheimer's Disease:: New Treatment, Or Even Vaccine P

[Guest guest]

Hi Jim,

In reference to your comment below referring to what Dr, Buttar said

about Alzheimer's & Autism being essentially the same thing.

.....I am not sure if you have seen the latest research about the

Cold Sore Virus being Linked To Alzheimer's Disease?

> >

> > Dr. Buttar has apparently said that Alzheimer's and autism are

> essentially the same thing. The same kinds of metal toxicities show

> up in both, the same kinds of supplements can help, neuro-

> inflammation is turning out to be a big issue in Alzheimer's (Dr.

> Tobinick's findings with peri-spinal Enbrel treatment really

bolster

> this argument). Autism is not the only thing set to take an

enormous

> and painful bite from the national healthcare pie - so is

Alzheimer's.

> >

> > Jim

> >

>

Science News

Cold Sore Virus Linked To Alzheimer's Disease: New Treatment, Or Even

Vaccine Possible

ScienceDaily (Dec. 7, 2008) — The virus behind cold sores is a major

cause of the insoluble protein plaques found in the brains of

Alzheimer's disease sufferers, University of Manchester researchers

have revealed.

They believe the herpes simplex virus is a significant factor in

developing the debilitating disease and could be treated by antiviral

agents such as acyclovir, which is already used to treat cold sores

and other diseases caused by the herpes virus. Another future

possibility is vaccination against the virus to prevent the

development of the disease in the first place.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterised by progressive memory loss

and severe cognitive impairment. It affects over 20 million people

world-wide, and the numbers will rise with increasing longevity.

However, despite enormous investment into research on the

characteristic abnormalities of AD brain - amyloid plaques and

neurofibrillary tangles - the underlying causes are unknown and

current treatments are ineffectual.

Professor Ruth Itzhaki and her team at the University's Faculty of

Life Sciences have investigated the role of herpes simplex virus type

1 (HSV1) in AD, publishing their very recent, highly significant

findings in the Journal of Pathology.

Most people are infected with this virus, which then remains life-

long in the peripheral nervous system, and in 20-40% of those

infected it causes cold sores. Evidence of a viral role in AD would

point to the use of antiviral agents to stop progression of the

disease.

The team discovered that the HSV1 DNA is located very specifically in

amyloid plaques: 90% of plaques in Alzheimer's disease sufferers'

brains contain HSV1 DNA, and most of the viral DNA is located within

amyloid plaques. The team had previously shown that HSV1 infection of

nerve-type cells induces deposition of the main component, beta

amyloid, of amyloid plaques. Together, these findings strongly

implicate HSV1 as a major factor in the formation of amyloid deposits

and plaques, abnormalities thought by many in the field to be major

contributors to Alzheimer's disease.

The team had discovered much earlier that the virus is present in

brains of many elderly people and that in those people with a

specific genetic factor, there is a high risk of developing

Alzheimer's disease.

The team's data strongly suggest that HSV1 has a major role in

Alzheimer's disease and point to the usage of antiviral agents for

treating the disease, and in fact in preliminary experiments they

have shown that acyclovir reduces the amyloid deposition and reduces

also certain other feature of the disease which they have found are

caused by HSV1 infection.

Professor Itzhaki explains: " We suggest that HSV1 enters the brain in

the elderly as their immune systems decline and then establishes a

dormant infection from which it is repeatedly activated by events

such as stress, immunosuppression, and various infections.

" The ensuing active HSV1 infection causes severe damage in brain

cells, most of which die and then disintegrate, thereby releasing

amyloid aggregates which develop into amyloid plaques after other

components of dying cells are deposited on them. "

Her colleague Dr Wozniak adds: " Antiviral agents would

inhibit the harmful consequences of HSV1 action; in other words,

inhibit a likely major cause of the disease irrespective of the

actual damaging processes involved, whereas current treatments at

best merely inhibit some of the symptoms of the disease. "

The team now hopes to obtain funding in order to take their work

further, enabling them to investigate in detail the effect of

antiviral agents on the Alzheimer's disease-associated changes that

occur during HSV1 infection, as well as the nature of the processes

and the role of the genetic factor. They very much hope also that

clinical trials will be set up to test the effect of antiviral agents

on Alzheimer's disease patients.

[Guest guest]

> ....I am not sure if you have seen the latest research about the

> Cold Sore Virus being Linked To Alzheimer's Disease?

>

Yep, posted that one yesterday - there was an article in

Scientific American on it ( " second tier " scientific journalism in my

mind - the first in journal articles, and the third one are the AP

stories..)

Re: serotonin hypothesis

My depression does not respond well AT ALL to things that directly

affect serotonin, AND it seems to respond to oxytocin as well

(oxytocin will replace the Wellbutrin at a high enough dose, which is

stable I believe). And then there's the evidence implicating neural

inflammation, glial imbalances, cytokines, and mitochondria in both

depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders.. Amazing how

mitochondria are turning up at the center of all of these things.

Jim

[Guest guest]

hi.. so... over 90% of the human population has the herpes virus simplex 1... so this means we have many of those having to die from alzheimers? I have had 4 outbreaks in my life.. am I destined? my mom has alzheimers.. early stages.. she came down with shingles last spring... she was dx last december.. officially... Lia

Re: Cold Sore Virus Linked To Alzheimer's Disease:: New Treatment, Or Even Vaccine P

> ....I am not sure if you have seen the latest research about the

> Cold Sore Virus being Linked To Alzheimer's Disease?

>

Yep, posted that one yesterday - there was an article in Scientific American on it ("second tier" scientific journalism in my mind - the first in journal articles, and the third one are the AP stories..)

Re: serotonin hypothesis

My depression does not respond well AT ALL to things that directly affect serotonin, AND it seems to respond to oxytocin as well (oxytocin will replace the Wellbutrin at a high enough dose, which is stable I believe). And then there's the evidence implicating neural inflammation, glial imbalances, cytokines, and mitochondria in both depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders.. Amazing how mitochondria are turning up at the center of all of these things.

Jim

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