United States: Some germs normally found around us may later cause dementia in a person’s life.
A new study has discovered that certain infections, especially herpes simplex-1 (HSV-1), could increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
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Scientists working for Gilead Sciences carried out the study and published the results today in BMJ Open.
They went through the health insurance records of Americans and saw that those with Alzheimer’s had a greater chance of also receiving a diagnosis for HSV-1, gizmodo.com reported.
The study is among those that indicate that treatment of orthodox HSV-1 and similar viruses could help prevent dementia.
A study found that people who had suffered the herpes virus had an 80% increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.https://t.co/9K5MiEEW84
— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) May 21, 2025
Of the many forms of dementia, Alzheimer’s is the most common and touches the lives of nearly 7 million Americans today.
Cancer is mainly triggered by a combination of factors from the environment and from genes. Lately, a number of studies have proposed that infections, among them HSV-1, are sometimes important for these conditions.
Most often, oral herpes (called cold sores) is caused by HSV-1, and many people with HSV-1 experience no symptoms, though HSV-1 can also cause genital herpes, which is mostly caused by HSV-2.
Not all evidence proves this viral link, so the authors used real data to see if they could verify it, gizmodo.com reported.
The lead researcher, Luke Liu, points out that this study is the first to examine the link between Alzheimer’s and HSV-1 using a vast claims database in the U.S.