Among the correlations that have been found are between the herpes virus and Alzheimer’s disease and between the influenza virus and Parkinson’s disease
Numerous associations between infections with common viruses such as influenza or herpes and at least six neurodegenerative diseases ( Alzheimer’sParkinson’s, ALS, multiple sclerosis, dementia and vascular dementia) found the new major American scientific research published in the neurology journal “Neuron”.
In particular, the study confirms and extends findings of previous research that had linked individual viruses to specific diseases, now giving a more complete picture. But other scientists pointed out that the new study, based on electronic medical records rather than an analysis of biological samples, merely notes associations and does not prove a clear cause-and-effect relationship, meaning that viruses are indeed to blame for the neurological damage in the brain.
Among the associations that have been found are between the herpes virus and Alzheimer’s disease, between the influenza virus and Parkinson’s disease, between the human papillomavirus HPV and dementia, between the Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis, etc. .a. Influenza leading to pneumonia is also frequently associated with all neurodegenerative diseases except multiple sclerosis.
Of all the neurological diseases, dementia has been found to be most frequently associated with viral infections, including influenza (with or without pneumonia) and encephalitis. The strongest association – a 31-fold increased risk – was found between Alzheimer’s disease and viral encephalitis.
The new research, according to the “Science», based on medical records from Britain and Finland, analyzed data on about 132,000 people who had a neurological condition and were also tested for a viral infection. The conclusion was that people with a neurodegenerative condition were more likely to have a current or past viral infection than people without a neurological disease.
No viral infection was found to be positively (protectively) associated with any neurodegenerative condition. On the other hand, the scientists pointed out that viruses may not be to blame, but that there are genetic factors that make some people more vulnerable to both viral infections and neurological diseases. Also various environmental factors may be involved in causing neurodegenerative diseases.
“A lot of work still needs to be done to try to directly link exposure to viruses to the risk of neurodegenerative diseases,” admitted lead researcher Dr. Andrew Singleton of the US National Institutes of Health’s Center for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias.
The genetic epidemiologist Cornelia van Duyn of the University of Oxford said that the fact that the increase in risk for neurodegenerative disease peaks only a year after viral infection and then declines, is against the viruses themselves, given that neurodegenerative diseases generally take years or even decades to develop. to appear, so one would expect the risk from viruses to be greater after 10 or 15 years. So, as he said, a viral infection probably does not cause the neurodegenerative condition, but is rather a byproduct of it, if e.g. consider that in the years leading up to a diagnosis of dementia, the patient exhibits a great deal of metabolic and immunological disturbance.
RES-EMP
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