Cold Sore Virus May Be Alzheimer's Smoking Gun

Science Daily is reporting that the virus behind cold sores has been found to be a major cause of the insoluble protein plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease sufferers. Researchers believe the herpes simplex virus is a significant factor in developing the debilitating disease and could be treated by antiviral agents such as acyclovir, which is already used to treat cold sores and other diseases caused by the herpes virus. Another future possibility is vaccination against the virus to prevent the development of Alzheimer's in the first place. The research was just published in the Journal of Pathology (abstract).

Comments

I may have herpes but at least I don't have herpes

[Anonymous Coward]

I just lost my train of thought.

Strange...

[Der Huhn Teufel]

Man my mouth hurts but I don't remember why.

Re:Strange...

[MarkRose]

You coded in brainfuck without a condom and got cerebral herpes, obviously.

Re:Strange...

[ArsonSmith]

For those that don't know Sherlock (full name Sherlock Holmes) was an investigative detective from stores by Arthur Conan Doyle found here Sherlock Holmes

timely article

[circletimessquare]

in a few weeks, poor innocent little children will get visits from aunt bertha and grandma marge, and the first thing the strange smelly relatives will do is find the innocent children, exclaim "my how you've grown!" or "aren't you the cutest thing, i could eat you up!" and, approaching the children, who will now be rapt in horror, they will proceed to plant wet sloppy kisses, over the protestations and gyrations of the children sturggling to break free of the bear arm grip

and, the kids are right to object. they are trying to avoid herpes and alzheimers

kisses from old relatives is a brain mummifying disease

Can one be tested...

[blind biker]

Can one be tested for the herpes simplex virus? I never had an outbreak, but one winter when I was cyclilng in -17C (stupid, yeah, gimme a break, I love cycling) I got a cold sore on the tip of my nose. So now I would like to be able to dismiss the idea I have herpes simplex. But if I have it, I'd like to start a therapy ASAP - I don't want to get Alzheimer's.

Re:Can one be tested...

[blind biker]

Yes, yes it was a frostbite! Is that not the same as a cold sore, then?

See, this happens because English is not my native tongue. Never lived in an English-speaking country, either. While I do have a reasonably good command of it, there are rare instances where English fools me, just like now.

Note to self: cold sore != frostbite

Re:I may have herpes but at least I don't have her

[Anonymous Coward]

Nastiest Alzheimer's joke ever:

Guy brings his wife to the doctor. Doctor tells him "We screwed up the lab results. She either has AIDS or Alzheimers."

Guy says "great, what should I do?"

Doctor says "Drop her off about a mile away from home. If she finds her way home, don't fuck her!"

Good News for Slashdot

[pragma_x]

This is excellent news for most slashdotters since the herpes 'cold-sore' virus is typically transmitted by kissing.

Re:Good News for Slashdot

[mkiwi]

This is excellent news for most slashdotters since the herpes 'cold-sore' virus is typically transmitted by kissing.

I said something like that to a doctor once at Mayo clinic. Imagine my surprise when he snapped back, "You can get it from kissing a glass."

Re:I may have herpes but at least I don't have her

[Anonymous Coward]

What you said reminds me of when I told a friend a stupid joke. He responded by saying, "It sounds like someone just made that up."

Re:What about heredity?

[Jorophose]

But House only does it with four!

Re:What about heredity?

[Rayban]

It's not Lupus.