Dr. Jhon ArmandSimon

A team of British scientists at the University of Manchester has established a connection between the virus of cold sores and Alzheimer’s disease, which could lead to new treatments for neurodegenerative disease.

In research published in the Journal of Patholgy, experts note that the virus that produces blisters in the mouth, known as herpes simplex virus (VHS1) is one of the sources of the protein plaques found in brains of Alzheimer patients.

The scientists, who acknowledge that their study is still in its initial phase and are seeking new funding, they argue that this virus may be linked to the onset of Alzheimer’s and suggest that perhaps the evil might be treated with antiviral agents. Their conclusion is that during the investigation, led by Ruth Itzhaki, discovered that the protein plaques in the brain affected by Alzheimer’s disease contain the DNA of the herpes virus.

Previous studies had already concluded that the infection of nerve cells with the virus causing it to settle a major component of the protein plaques characteristic of the neurodegenerative disease. Itzhaki and her team believe that the virus enters the brain by exploiting weak immune sets and there a latent infection that is triggered by factors such as stress, immune suppression or multiple infections.

“One of the most exciting of our research is that we have drugs that have been used for a relatively long time against VHS1, which are cheap and well tolerated,” said a statement by Itzhaki in The Times.

For now, the newspaper account of British scientists hope to obtain funding necessary to experiment with animals, which could give further evidence of the relationship between the virus that causes herpes and neurodegenerative disease in a period of one year. To test antiviral drugs in humans, whether pre-testing results are timely, Itzhaki estimated could take three to five years.