{"id":27555,"date":"2019-09-25T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T08:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/?p=27555"},"modified":"2019-09-25T17:51:12","modified_gmt":"2019-09-25T17:51:12","slug":"brain-health-one-more-reason-to-get-help-for-herpes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/std-sexually-transmitted-diseases-treatments\/brain-health-one-more-reason-to-get-help-for-herpes\/","title":{"rendered":"Brain Health: One More Reason to Get Help for Herpes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recent research indicates that antivirals such as acyclovir and valacyclovir (Valtrex) could significantly reduce the risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease in some patients. These drugs are best known as treatments for herpes-related infections such as cold sores, fever blisters, and genital herpes.<\/em><\/p>\n

Alzheimer\u2019s disease, the most common form of dementia, affects an estimated 30 million people worldwide. Making matters worse, there is thus far no cure for this memory-erasing brain disorder that rapidly erodes cognitive skills.<\/p>\n

However, recent research has found increasing evidence of a link between Alzheimer’s and the herpes virus responsible for cold sores. And, offering hope for a novel new approach to the prevention of Alzheimer\u2019s are findings that treatment with antiviral agents appears to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.<\/p>\n

Large-Scale Taiwanese Study<\/h3>\n

Perhaps the most impressive of these research findings comes from a large-scale study conducted in Taiwan. The Taiwanese study was led by N.S. Zheng, who is affiliated with the School of Medicine at the National Defense Medical Center in Taipei, Taiwan.<\/p>\n

Zheng and his colleagues enrolled a total of 33,448 subjects in their study. All of these subjects were drawn from Taiwan\u2019s National Health Insurance Research Database. Of this total, 8,362 were newly diagnosed with infections by herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1), which is the cause of cold sores and fever blisters. The remainder of the subjects, 25,086, were deemed free of herpes infections and were designated as controls.<\/p>\n

Alzheimer\u2019s Risk Sharply Reduced<\/h3>\n

Analyzing health data from these subjects, researchers found that herpes-infected participants who treated their infections with antiherpetic medications reduced their risk of developing dementia by a factor of 10.<\/p>\n

The findings from the Taiwanese study, published in the April 2018 issue of Neurotherapeutics<\/a>, are consistent with conclusions from earlier research on the herpes-Alzheimer’s connection.<\/p>\n

In an article posted at TheConversation.com<\/a>, Ruth Itzhaki, professor emeritus of molecular neurobiology at England\u2019s University of Manchester, cites findings from earlier studies in which she had participated.<\/p>\n

HSV1 Found in Brains of Elderly<\/h3>\n

In 1991, a study found that the herpes simplex virus 1 was present in the brains of many elderly people. A study in 1997 concluded that the presence of the virus in the brain sharply increased the risk of dementia, particularly in elderly people with a gene known as APOE4.<\/p>\n

Much as it does in other nerve cells, the herpes virus alternates between active and dormant phases in the brain. When it is active, it causes cumulative damage in the brain, damage which is far more extensive in those with the APOE4 gene.<\/p>\n

Alzheimer\u2019s-Related Proteins<\/h3>\n

According to Itzhaki, subsequent laboratory research showed that the introduction of HSV1 into cell cultures triggered the accumulation of beta-amyloid and abnormal tau proteins. Abnormally high levels of these proteins have been found in the brains of Alzheimer\u2019s patients.<\/p>\n

The good news for those who are known carriers of HSV1 is the role that antiviral medications such as acyclovir and valacyclovir (Valtrex) can play in reducing the number and severity of active outbreaks of the virus.<\/p>\n

Fights Other HSV1 Infections<\/h3>\n

Even if your brain makeup is less susceptible to the dementia-causing effects of the herpes simplex virus, its presence can cause painful and unsightly outbreaks of cold sores and fever blisters. And medications such as acyclovir and valacyclovir (Valtrex) can significantly reduce the number and severity of such outbreaks. These drugs are also effective against outbreaks of genital herpes, which are caused by the closely related herpes simplex virus 2.<\/p>\n

If the convenience of ordering those drugs online appeals to you, consider taking your business to eDrugstore.com, a longtime online prescription drug service. Based in Tempe, Arizona, eDrugstore has been in business since the late 1990s. To learn more, visit eDrugstore\u2019s Sexual Health page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Recent research indicates that antivirals such as acyclovir and valacyclovir (Valtrex) could significantly reduce the risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease in some patients. These drugs are best known as treatments for herpes-related infections such as cold sores, fever blisters, and genital herpes. Alzheimer\u2019s disease, the most common form of dementia, affects an estimated 30 million people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[43,514],"class_list":["post-27555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-std-sexually-transmitted-diseases-treatments","tag-herpes","tag-valtrex-2"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t