Today's topic for discussion is:
| Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. |
| posted at: 16:05 | permanent link to this entry |
BBC News is reporting that researchers in Manchester have isolated brain infections of herpes simplex virus (HSV) type-1 as a cause of Alzheimer's disease. Abstract is here. I remember that protein-based 'plaques' are recognized as a nominal cause of Alzheimer's, but hadn't heard of the HSV connection until now. Huge news, then, when I read this: ...in Alzheimer's disease brains, 90% of the plaques contained the viral DNA and 72% of the DNA was associated with plaques; in aged normal brains, which contain amyloid plaques at a lower frequency, 80% of plaques contained herpes simplex virus type 1 DNA but only 24% of the viral DNA was plaque-associated (p < 0.001). Given that the researchers are looking at human brain sections here, they're talking about real infections in people, vs. controlled lab infections in mice. They describe a combination viral infection and genetic vulnerability to that virus, and it's a huge (if sobering) step forward. The good news is that a culprit has been all but caught in the act. The bad news is that it's one of the most common viruses around. The other bad news is the likely reality of multiple types of viral Alzheimer's and other dementias. |
| posted at: 16:03 | permanent link to this entry |