Older people who are infected with the herpes (a type of herpes) virus are twice as likely to develop dementia, a new study has warned.
The research, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, is the latest to point to an unknown role between certain types of viral infections and decline in brain function.
Herpes simplex virus type 1 (SSV-1) is the second most common infection after oral herpes, affecting 3.7 billion people under the age of 50 worldwide, while dementia affects approximately 550 million. .
HSV-1 infection is a lifelong infection with symptoms developing at different times, while some infected individuals do not develop any symptoms at any point in life.
This new study confirms that herpes simplex virus may be a potential cause of dementia.
In the study, researchers examined 1,000 70-year-old people from Uppsala, Sweden, for a period of 15 years.
The study found that people who were infected with HSV-1 at some point in their lives were twice as likely to develop dementia as those who were not infected.
This research confirms a previous study that pointed to a link between HSV infection and Alzheimer’s disease.
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