Article: Virus that causes cold sores linked to Alzheimers

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Virus that causes cold sores linked to Alzheimer's

By Brophy Marcus, USA TODAY

Scientists from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Brown

University and House Ear Institute in Los Angeles have developed a new lab

technique that helps them observe how herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1)

infections grow inside cells. It's a common virus that infects mucous membranes

and causes cold sores.

Using the new method, the scientists were able to watch the virus burst out of

the cells of a mucous membrane and enter nerve cells, says researcher Shi-Bin

Cheng of the Alpert Medical School at Brown University. In theory, the virus

then could travel to the brain and affect dementia plaques.

" Clinicians have seen a link between HSV1 infection and Alzheimer's disease in

patients, so we wanted to investigate what might be going on in the body that

would account for this, " he says. " What we were able to see in the lab strongly

suggests a causal link between HSV1 and Alzheimer's. "

Alzheimer's expert Murali Doraiswamy of Duke Medicine says HSV1 as a cause of

Alzheimer's " was a fringe theory for many years. In recent years the link has

slowly gained more attention. " It's probably not a cause but one co-factor, he

says.

Experts advise treating a cold sore quickly to minimize the time the virus is

active.