As of: March 26, 2024, 8:09 p.m
By: Sandra Sporer
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About two thirds of the world's population is infected with herpes.
According to a new study, this significantly increases the risk of developing dementia.
Uppsala – Dementia is still an incurable disease that affects over a million people in Germany alone.
A lot of research is being carried out to identify additional risk factors, improve early detection and possibly develop an effective treatment in the future.
A team of scientists from Uppsala University has now demonstrated another risk factor in a study: infection with the herpes simplex virus (HSV).
The study participants who carried the virus were significantly more likely to develop dementia than those who were not infected.
Does herpes increase the risk of developing dementia?
A study says yes – and to a significant extent.
© Batuhan Toker/IMAGO
In the study, people infected with herpes had a significantly increased risk of developing dementia
Back in November 2023, a research team from Columbia University presented a study that suggested a connection between herpes and dementia.
This theory has now been further supported by the Swedish study.
Study participants who were infected with HSV had twice the risk of developing dementia.
Erika Vestin, the lead author of the study, emphasized in a press release from Uppsala University: “The special thing about this study is that the participants are approximately the same age, which makes the results even more reliable, as age differences that are otherwise associated with the development of dementia The results cannot be falsified.
She also sees the results as an opportunity for further research into potential cures.
The herpes simplex virus
There are a total of over 200 herpes viruses, nine of which are specific to humans.
The herpes simplex virus (HSV) is probably the best known of them.
It occurs in two different types: Type 1 and Type 2.
–
HSV type 1
(HSV-1) is primarily noticeable as
cold sores
.
It is transmitted primarily through saliva.
–
HSV type 2
(HSV-2) is mostly transmitted through sexual contact and is the most common cause of
genital herpes
.
In principle, however, both types can cause both cold and genital herpes.
There is neither an effective vaccine nor a drug to combat HSV.
Once infected, you carry the virus for life.
Source: Helmholtz Center for Infection Research
Further research into herpes as a dementia risk factor is needed
Vestin added: “The findings could further advance dementia research to treat the disease at an early stage with common anti-herpes virus drugs or to prevent the disease before it occurs.”
However, she also stressed that further research is needed to unequivocally confirm that HSV infection is a risk factor for dementia.
There are also things that everyone can do to prevent dementia.
Women in particular should take good preventive measures because they are more likely to develop dementia as they get older than men.
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