New Cleveland Clinic research findings link human herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV1) and Alzheimer’s Disease prevalence.
The study’s lead author, Feixiong Cheng, PhD, hopes these findings will help “prevent and cure neurodegenerative disease,” according to a release.
Dr. Cheng’s lab previously linked the diseases through transposable elements. The scientists mapped out every transposable element that is connected to Alzheimer’s. Next, they investigated “four publicly available datasets which contained RNA sequencing data from hundreds of healthy and Alzheimer’s-affected brain cells.” They found the transposable elements that “were more highly activated in Alzheimer’s-affected brains that contained HSV RNA” and “tested HSV-1 infected brain cells to see whether the identified TEs were activated, as well as the effects on neuroinflammation and accumulation of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease.”
The researchers highlighted the process in which HSV-1 is connected to Alzheimer's: 1) A patient catches HSV-1 or their infection becomes more vigorous with age. 2) HSV-1 triggers transposable elements. 3) The transposable elements cause Tau (and other Alzheimer’s proteins) to build up. 4) “The accumulated proteins contribute to inflammation and neurodegeneration.”
Using these findings, the scientists reviewed public health records with artificial intelligence (AI) to see if antiviral herpes medications prevented Alzheimer’s progression. They found that valacyclovir and acyclovir “were associated with significantly reduced instances of Alzheimer’s disease.” They published a report about their findings in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.
Cleveland Clinic release on Newswise
