Research into the causes of Alzheimer's is not yet complete. Now a new study shows that head trauma can activate herpes viruses and promote the disease.
Frankfurt am Main – As a neurodegenerative disease, dementia often causes a lot of suffering for those affected and their relatives. While short-term memory and memory are initially impaired, dementia often progresses in such a way that it also deprives those affected of content imprinted in their long-term memory. In the course of the disease, those affected lose more and more of what they have learned, until in the course of a severe course of dementia there can even be a complete loss of perception. This is often accompanied by an increased level of care and need for care of those affected.
As an umbrella term, dementia includes around 50 clinical pictures that are associated with a reduction in memory and mental performance. Its most common form is Alzheimer's disease, which accounts for around two-thirds of all dementia cases. Although exercise, a balanced diet and mental training can prevent it, there are also a number of risk factors that can promote Alzheimer's. And a recently published British study now suggests a surprising connection for these.
Study shows connection between herpes viruses and head injuries as risk factors for Alzheimer's dementia
The development of Alzheimer's dementia is an important question in research and as such the subject of numerous dementia research studies, but its causes are still not fully understood. One thing is clear: In those affected, nerve cells in the brain deteriorate, which further impair their mental performance and perception over the course of the disease.
At present, Alzheimer's research assumes that deposits of two toxic proteins are largely responsible for the breakdown of nerve cells in those affected: clumps of amyloid-beta and tau fibrils. However, herpes viruses and head injuries, such as concussions in particular, also seem to have a risk of promoting the development of Alzheimer's dementia under certain circumstances.
Head injuries "awaken" herpes viruses – and release proteins that promote Alzheimer's disease
At least this is the central finding of a British study that researchers from the Institute for Population Ageing at the University of Oxford worked out together with members of the Universities of Manchester and Tufts. They published their results in the journal Science Signaling. As the researchers discovered, herpes viruses can survive a lifetime in the human body and lead to the dreaded deposits in the brain if they are "awakened", i.e. reactivated, in a certain way.
Herpes viruses that lie dormant in the body for a long time could be "awakened" by vibrations and injuries to the head, for example, as the scientists pointed out as the next important result of their study in Science Signaling. They reached it by exposing a biotechnologically generated model of human brain tissue to a series of light shocks.
They observed how light shocks activated the dormant herpes viruses. "This reactivation triggered inflammation, the formation of beta-amyloid plaques and the formation of harmful tau proteins," summarized Leslie K. Ferrarelli, who was involved in the study as a researcher. And because these proteins are known to initiate neurodegenerative processes in the brain, including Alzheimer's dementia, Ferarelli adds: "The results establish a direct link between two risk factors in a mechanism that may contribute to dementia."
Head injuries have long been known to science as a risk factor for dementia
While the researchers have now made an important new finding with the connection between head injuries and a reactivation of herpes viruses as the cause of Alzheimer's dementia, effects on the skull have long been identified as a risk factor for dementia. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) even exists as a clinical picture that classifies a rare form of dementia: cognitive and motor disorders as well as behavioral and personality changes that occur as a result of regular head injuries.
It was first described by US researchers in the 1920s as "punch drunk syndrome". The reason for the study at that time was a sometimes noticeable limitation of the cognitive performance of professional boxers, who are known to be exposed to a high number of blows to the head during training or competitions.
Because contact sports in particular, and thus numerous team sports such as football or basketball in addition to those from martial arts, offer an increased potential for head injuries, the Alzheimer Research Initiative e.V. association warns on its website to protect the head during sports and to avoid unnecessary vibrations – even minor ones. And not only because there is no therapy for CTE sufferers yet, but because head injuries can also promote Alzheimer's dementia. For this reason, older people are also recommended to exercise increased caution against falls. (FH)
News
How Immune Dysregulation Contributes to Psychiatric Disorders
Introduction Growing evidence suggests that disruptions in immune function may play an important role in the development and progression of psychiatric disorders. However, immune mechanisms probably contribute more strongly in some patients than others, [...]
Electrostatic Discharge Boosts Triboelectric Nanogenerator Current and Enables DC Output
Controlled electrical discharges could enable triboelectric nanogenerators to achieve higher peak currents, extending nano-enabled energy harvesting into chemical processing and self-powered sensing. Paper: Electrostatic discharge as a breakthrough strategy for triboelectric nanogenerators. A new review [...]
Swiss laboratory uses old drugs against rare diseases
Researchers at the University of Geneva are combing through collections of approved drugs to find new therapies for rare diseases – with some success. This approach is gaining traction around the world, while pharmaceutical [...]
Nanozyme Aptasensors Show Promise for Faster Food, Health, and Environmental Testing
By pairing robust artificial enzymes with highly selective aptamers, nanozyme aptasensors could help detect disease biomarkers, pathogens, and contaminants faster, but the review shows that real-world deployment still depends on overcoming matrix interference, biofouling, [...]
Paralyzed Man Feels Sensation Again With Brain Stimulation Device
Aneuroprosthetic system has allowed a man with paralysis to grasp and lift objects and feel touch again. The device helped 42-year-old Keith Thomas of Massapequa, New York, who was paralyzed from the chest down [...]
Global Cancer Cases Could Surge 67% by 2050, New Report Warns
New data reveal major geographic disparities and highlight the urgent need for global action on prevention, early detection, and equitable access to treatment. For roughly one in five people worldwide, cancer will become part [...]
A Deadly Ebola-Like Virus Is Spreading. Are We Ready?
BU virologist Nancy Sullivan says the Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo underscores the need for broader outbreak preparedness. The death of a nurse marked the moment health officials recognized that [...]
Why Most Animal Viruses Never Become Human Pandemics
From receptor mismatch to risky human-animal interfaces, this article explains why spillover is common but true pandemic emergence remains rare. Introduction Humans are constantly exposed to animal viruses through farming, wildlife contact, and the [...]
Stem cell organoids repair heart microvessels in coronary artery disease models
A Stanford University team has shown that vascular organoids derived from human stem cells can repair the heart’s microvessel network in pigs with ischaemic heart disease – a proof-of-concept advancement that could open new therapeutic [...]
Goodbye GP waiting rooms, hello prevention at home
Prevention is suddenly everywhere in NHS reform. The recent £340m community pharmacy deal is moving more services onto the high street. Community Diagnostic Centres are being expanded, and the Neighbourhood Health Framework sets out [...]
Ebola control is weakened by mistrust and cultural insensitivity
Effective response depends on cooperation with communities and frontline workers, writes Zaeem ul Haq The current Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda is exposing dangerous gaps in [...]
Building the Brain Requires Millions of Dangerous DNA Breaks
Scientists discovered that building a healthy brain involves an unexpected step: young neurons routinely break and rapidly repair their own DNA. As the brain develops, newly formed nerve cells must travel through tightly packed tissue [...]
One Tiny Change May Explain How Viruses Jump From Bats to Humans
Scientists found that one tiny genetic change may determine whether a bat virus stays in bats or becomes a human threat. Most infectious disease outbreaks begin when a virus or other pathogen crosses from animals into [...]
Scientists Discover 250+ Genes That Could Lead to New Ways To Prevent Melanoma
The world’s largest study of mole genetics identified hundreds of genes tied to melanoma risk, uncovering potential new drug targets and paving the way for more accurate melanoma screening and prevention. Researchers at QIMR [...]
Breakthrough Diabetes Treatment Reprograms the Immune System
An engineered stem cell therapy reversed new-onset Type 1 diabetes in mice by shifting the immune system away from attacking insulin-producing cells. For more than a century, people with Type 1 diabetes have relied [...]
Taking the world’s temperature: WHO chief spotlights global health emergencies
Taking the world’s temperature on pressing health matters, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus provided the latest on current global challenges - and successes when it comes to international cooperation. “The outbreaks of hantavirus, Ebola and Marburg all show [...]
