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Researchers Find Herpes Viruses in Brains Marked by Alzheimer's Disease

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Re: Researchers Find Herpes Viruses in Brains Marked by Alzheimer's Disease

#61

Post by [deleted] »

trendia wrote: post #52
chasil wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People commonly take acyclovir for simplex 1 & 2. Does that suppress this virus? Can any of these common drugs pass the blood-brain barrier? Might other herpes strains be involved? Zoster (chicken pox)? Epstein-Barr (mono)? Kaposi's Sarcoma/HHV8?

Acyclovir improves outcomes in HSV encephalitis [0], but does not completely cure it or prevent long-term damage in all patients. The worst side effect of encephalitis is memory impairment: > The most common and most disabling complication of herpes simplex encephalitis in our patients, and in other studies,9 10 20-24 was memory impairment, which especially affected short term memory. Occasionally remote memory is mo…

[deleted]

Re: Researchers Find Herpes Viruses in Brains Marked by Alzheimer's Disease

#62

Post by newnewpdro »

It always struck me as odd how accepting everyone was of the inevitability and benign-ness of chickenpox. Even though we know the virus is still present after the rash, it seemed strange to me how it was assumed no less visible effects were occurring.

HPV is another which I found odd how little importance was placed on preventing its spread growing up. Even today we're still selective about the immunization of people against this virus, knowing it's responsible for most occurrences of cervical cancer.

I suspect we'll almost certainly learn something less obvious about herpes of comparable importance to HPVs role in cervical cancer.

Re: Researchers Find Herpes Viruses in Brains Marked by Alzheimer's Disease

#63

Post by codezero »

ztjio wrote: post #60
throwawayj90 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are we thinking of the same drug? Because Valtrex is pretty safe as long as your kidneys are normal and you drink enough water every day. I take 500 mg daily to prevent 5 to 10 (at least!) cold sores per year. My quality of life is so much higher with this drug (imagine not being able to be intimate on like half of all your dates...) For people like me who get cold sores at the drop of a hat (or shaving or even a sha…

The more disturbing side effects are rare, but very very serious. I would consider the drug for, say, shingles. But not a chance for a cold sore that’s nothing but a minor nuisance for a few days: https://www.drugs.com/sfx/valtrex-side-effects.html

This is why it’s a prescription. You should go over risks and any symptoms with a doctor and get regular checkups.

Re: Researchers Find Herpes Viruses in Brains Marked by Alzheimer's Disease

#64

Post by dbt00 »

newnewpdro wrote: post #62

It always struck me as odd how accepting everyone was of the inevitability and benign-ness of chickenpox. Even though we know the virus is still present after the rash, it seemed strange to me how it was assumed no less visible effects were occurring. HPV is another which I found odd how little importance was placed on preventing its spread growing up. Even today we're still selective about the immunization of people…

Spent a month with shingles. Chicken pox is satan, y'all.

Re: Researchers Find Herpes Viruses in Brains Marked by Alzheimer's Disease

#65

Post by rl3 »

ztjio wrote: post #60
throwawayj90 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are we thinking of the same drug? Because Valtrex is pretty safe as long as your kidneys are normal and you drink enough water every day. I take 500 mg daily to prevent 5 to 10 (at least!) cold sores per year. My quality of life is so much higher with this drug (imagine not being able to be intimate on like half of all your dates...) For people like me who get cold sores at the drop of a hat (or shaving or even a sha…

The more disturbing side effects are rare, but very very serious. I would consider the drug for, say, shingles. But not a chance for a cold sore that’s nothing but a minor nuisance for a few days: https://www.drugs.com/sfx/valtrex-side-effects.html

Virtually any drug looks scary when viewing its side effects in totality like that. The throwaway you're replying to is correct in saying it's a pretty safe drug.

>But not a chance for a cold sore that’s nothing but a minor nuisance for a few days

Except the virus regularly sheds asymptomatically, and Valacyclovir reduces that risk significantly, thus affording far more protection to one's partners.

I otherwise agree with you, but for sexually active adults who are positive, taking it is virtually an obligation unless their partner(s) already have the virus as well.

Re: Researchers Find Herpes Viruses in Brains Marked by Alzheimer's Disease

#66

Post by [deleted] »

ztjio wrote: post #40
codezero wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know your situation, but if you don't already, you should get an RX for Valtrex or some other anti-viral. You can usually take it _before_ the cold sore appears if you can tell it's about to (swelling, stress, etc...) – and it can and often entirely suppresses the external appearance for most people.

Dude, that seems insane to me. Maybe you haven’t ever dived into the possible side effects of anti virals. But maybe you should? The risk/reward ratio of such a drug for cold sores is extremely poor.

[deleted]

Re: Researchers Find Herpes Viruses in Brains Marked by Alzheimer's Disease

#67

Post by [deleted] »

dghughes wrote: post #35

As someone who gets cold sores this worries me. I know when I am super stressed because a cold sore will begin to appear on my lip. It's always there but stress allows it to replicate, all parts of my immune system are not able to cope during stressful events. I hope this doesn't mean I'm at risk for Alzheimer's disease. At least it's now known when people sleep it clears out beta-amyloid proteins in their brains. No…

[deleted]

Re: Researchers Find Herpes Viruses in Brains Marked by Alzheimer's Disease

#68

Post by rl3 »

dghughes wrote: post #48
codezero wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know your situation, but if you don't already, you should get an RX for Valtrex or some other anti-viral. You can usually take it _before_ the cold sore appears if you can tell it's about to (swelling, stress, etc...) – and it can and often entirely suppresses the external appearance for most people.

Thats's interesting but I'm referring to a cold sore not the genital or other types. As annoying as it is I can live with it I was just worried it was the type that raised the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

>Thats's interesting but I'm referring to a cold sore not the genital or other types.

"Cold sores" is just another word for oral HSV-1 or more rarely oral HSV-2. While HSV-2 is commonly referred to as genital herpes due to its historical preference for that site, the truth is that both viruses can readily infect both oral and genital sites. Genital HSV-1 for example is very prevalent:

"With respect to genital HSV-1 infection, 140 million people aged 15-49-years were estimated to have genital HSV-1 infection worldwide in 2012, but prevalence varied substantially by region. Most genital HSV-1 infections are estimated to occur in the Americas, Europe and Western Pacific, where HSV-1 continues to be acquired well into adulthood" [0]

In other words, the dichotomy between cold sores and genital herpes is largely pointless; it's the same virus. Oral can transmit to genital and vice/versa. Why one is heavily stigmatized and the other not is simply puzzling.

[0] http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/herpes-simpl...

Re: Researchers Find Herpes Viruses in Brains Marked by Alzheimer's Disease

#69

Post by rl3 »

newnewpdro wrote: post #62

It always struck me as odd how accepting everyone was of the inevitability and benign-ness of chickenpox. Even though we know the virus is still present after the rash, it seemed strange to me how it was assumed no less visible effects were occurring. HPV is another which I found odd how little importance was placed on preventing its spread growing up. Even today we're still selective about the immunization of people…

>It always struck me as odd how accepting everyone was of the inevitability and benign-ness of chickenpox.

Funny enough, genital Varicella Zoster (chicken pox) is a thing. Somewhat rare since most people already contract the virus at a different site during childhood, but it happens. It even presents very similar to a normal HSV-1/2 genital infection since it is also a herpesvirus.

Re: Researchers Find Herpes Viruses in Brains Marked by Alzheimer's Disease

#70

Post by XalvinX »

jacquesm wrote: post #56
shusson wrote: post #42

The study referenced in the article says they found HHV-6 in normal brains but there was "increased HHV-6A and HHV-7 in brains of subjects with Alzheimer’s disease" [1]. So I would say that is surprising and worth noting. [1] https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(18)30421-5

It may be worth noting but it also could very easily be a mistake of identifying an effect as a cause. Once the body is unhealthy all kinds of organisms use that opportunity to stake a claim.

Great point. Healthy people (or any other life form) do not suddenly get sick and die. I think this is a major issue with the entire system of Western medicine. Instead of focussing on healthy diet, lifestyle, exercise, managing stress, the system just wants to identify certain 'germs' and give pills that are supposed to kill those 'germs'...

As I understand it, licensed physicians in the US, even after like 12 years of higher education, never even study nutrition...what could possibly be more fundamental to human health than the food you eat??

Refreshing to see a comment like jacquesm made here.

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