21–30 of 137 posts
So according to WHO, 67% of people older than 50 have Herpes 1: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/herpes-s... How do you account for the disparity between the massive infection rate and the relatively low Alzheimer's rate?
[0]https://www.cancer.gov/types/prostate/understanding-prostate...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This paper only shows that brain-like lab grown tissue develops Amyloid-beta plaques (known to occur in patients with AD) to combat mircobial i.e. viral attack. There are a low of assumptions here: (1) Organoid tissue represents human-brain. Human (and mammalian) brain is a much more complex entity to be even remotely similar to this. (2) We do not know how amyloid-beta plaques are related to Alzheimer's Disease (AD)…
All true, correlation does not equal causation, but it's still fun to speculate when it looks like there might be a relatively inexpensive path (ie a vaccine we're going to develop anyway) to success.
So what does this mean if you get a cold sore every year or two? You're more likely to get Alzheimer's?
This paper isn't even really about the Alzheimers-herpes link, it's more about demoing how you can use HSV-1 with their brain structure to get what looks like a good model of Alzheimers disease. What they gave the model might not even be "real" Alzheimers. Their goal was to develop a really good research tool[0], not necessarily to show an AD/HSV link, and the cells in their model, as induced neuronal stem cells redifferentiated into brain-like tissue on a scaffold, might not be truly reacting like cells in your brain.
[0] from the discussion in the paper, here's the first line emphasizing the takeaway:
"Generating in vitro human models of sporadic AD poses a considerable challenge because of the complex, undefined etiology and slow disease progression that naturally occurs in patients. Here, we describe a multidisciplinary approach to address this critical need by generating robust and physiologically relevant 3D human tissues for studying sporadic AD through the use of hiNSC technology and HSV-1 in combination with a bioengineered brain tissue model."
The herpes-AD link is somewhat supported by this since clearly adding HSV to this brain model caused these AD-like developments, but that could be a factor of how the cells used to make these models react and their physiology might be different as differentiated induced stem cells.
HSV always seemed particularly poorly understood in the society to me, e.g. with many people getting it as children due to careless parents/extended family, and the benign branding of "cold sore" as if it is related to a cold. Given that the vaccine for 1 or 2 has proved to be extremely challenging, always wondered if the public simply being more well-informed on this topic could help reduce the incidence in the popu…
Big if true! This would mean that just as the Gardasil 9 vaccine prevents HPV, which leads to almost all forms of cervical cancer [1] (as well as others), a vaccine for HSV-1 might prevent someone from developing Alzheimer's later in life. There are HSV-2 vaccines in clinical trials [2], but I'm unaware of any HSV-1 vaccines as far along. Please chime in if you are aware! [1] https://www.nccc-online.org/hpvcervical-c…
As a side note, the HPV vaccine only protects against strains 16 and 18 (with some also providing protection against types 6 and 11). That covers the majority of the strains that cause cancer, but it certainly doesn't prevent HPV infections altogether. Remember that HPV is the same virus that causes common and plantar warts as well. A Wikipedia quote: "Most people acquire genital HPV infections at some point in their lives, and about 10% of women are currently infected.[25] A large increase in the incidence of genital HPV infection occurs at the age when individuals begin to engage in sexual activity. As with cutaneous HPVs, immunity to genital HPV is believed to be specific to a specific strain of HPV."[1]
I don't think it's possible to get rid of either virus very easily, although vaccines that target the most dangerous types are a good defense.
[0] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db304.htm [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_papillomavirus_infection
Earlier quoted context omitted.
All true, correlation does not equal causation, but it's still fun to speculate when it looks like there might be a relatively inexpensive path (ie a vaccine we're going to develop anyway) to success.
I tend to feel like "fun speculation" around new science research feeds loads of incorrect information being spread. Which makes it not fun to me at all.
Big if true! This would mean that just as the Gardasil 9 vaccine prevents HPV, which leads to almost all forms of cervical cancer [1] (as well as others), a vaccine for HSV-1 might prevent someone from developing Alzheimer's later in life. There are HSV-2 vaccines in clinical trials [2], but I'm unaware of any HSV-1 vaccines as far along. Please chime in if you are aware! [1] https://www.nccc-online.org/hpvcervical-c…
Given the extremely high rates of HSV-1 infection (roughly half of everyone 14-49 and more among older people [0]), I'm guessing that it would be difficult to eradicate it using a vaccine (although I'm certainly not an expert). As a side note, the HPV vaccine only protects against strains 16 and 18 (with some also providing protection against types 6 and 11). That covers the majority of the strains that cause cancer,…
True, it'd be similar to Australia where their cervical cancer rates will decline over decades as older people die and for younger people [1], the HPV vaccine uptake rate was very high. Folks with HSV-1 are likely stuck with it for life unless CRISPR comes to the rescue.
> As a side note, the HPV vaccine only protects against strains 16 and 18 (with some also providing protection against types 6 and 11). That covers the majority of the strains that cause cancer, but it certainly doesn't prevent HPV infections altogether. Remember that HPV is the same virus that causes common and plantar warts as well.
"GARDASIL 9 is a vaccine indicated in females and males 9 through 45 years of age for the prevention of cervical, vulvar, vaginal, and anal cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) Types 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58; precancerous or dysplastic lesions caused by HPV Types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58; and genital warts caused by HPV Types 6 and 11."
https://www.merckvaccines.com/gardasil9/
Disclaimer: I'm a male in my mid 30s who has had Gardasil 9 administered by a medical professional.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/03/australia-on... (The Guardian: "Australia on track to wipe out cervical cancer within 20 years" [2018])
This is my primary concern with SARSCoV2. Seeing how HPV can manifest in cancer, how HSV-1 can lead to Alzheimer’s, or how VZV (chickenpox) can flare up later in life as Shingles. Edit: thanks for the helpful information below!
HSV always seemed particularly poorly understood in the society to me, e.g. with many people getting it as children due to careless parents/extended family, and the benign branding of "cold sore" as if it is related to a cold. Given that the vaccine for 1 or 2 has proved to be extremely challenging, always wondered if the public simply being more well-informed on this topic could help reduce the incidence in the popu…
It's called Herpese Simplex.. but there's nothing simple about it!
HSV always seemed particularly poorly understood in the society to me, e.g. with many people getting it as children due to careless parents/extended family, and the benign branding of "cold sore" as if it is related to a cold. Given that the vaccine for 1 or 2 has proved to be extremely challenging, always wondered if the public simply being more well-informed on this topic could help reduce the incidence in the popu…
Puhleeze. HSV is present in the majority of the population. Branding parents as "careless" because their children get it is ridiculous.