British researchers have firmed up a link between cold sores and Alzheimer's disease, the Times of London reports. The virus behind the sores apparently helped cause Alzheimer's in 60% of cases studied, which may mean that common antiviral drugs can stop the disease. “If we are right, there is a good chance we could make progress quite quickly,” the lead researcher said.
The University of Manchester group showed that the virus, HSV1, infected protein plaques in the brain cells of Alzheimer's sufferers. Now the question is whether the virus infects while active—when antiviral drugs would be effective—or during a latency period. The researchers are seeking funding for animal tests but have so far been turned down.
- added December 06, 2008
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I hope they find a cure quickly. I used to volunteer in a nursing home and saw many sad cases of people with Alzheimer's.
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Wow, what an amazing breakthrough. Its about time we made some headway against this devastating disease!
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- ClusterAble
- 7 months ago
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That would really be good if they found something that even made a dent in the problem. I lost my grandfather to Alzheimers.
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According to the Alzheimer's Association, cases of this disease are expected to grow from the current number of 5 million to 15 million in the next few years as the Baby Boomer generation starts to succumb.
There is currently no treatment that will slow or stop the disease (unless the above story pans out, we're not even close), and full-time care costs upwards of $5,000 per month. We are about to have a major care crisis on our hands in this country unless funding is made available to patients and their families.
My mother has early-stage Alzheimers and we know several families who are dealing with it. Due to the enormous expense of in-home care, most patients in the early to middle stages are left alone for a good part of the day or are living alone, with family members keeping their fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong.
Every 72 seconds someone else develops Alzheimers. Don't let their families suffer financially. Write your congressman, write the President-Elect, and demand that they provide funding for long-term care as well as research. More info at www.alz.org.
