Herpes Symptoms

Cold sores may be more serious than popular opinion believes, according to recent studies that link them to a disease that attacks cognitive and memory functions of the brain. Recent studies suggest that the variant of the herpes simplex virus is a major cause of the insoluble protein plaques that are often found in the brains of people who have Alzheimer’s disease.

According to research by the University of Manchester and others, the version of herpes that causes cold sores may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers believe that treatment of the virus with aciclovir may help impede it from contributing to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Herpes is a viral disease that mainly affects the genitals or the oral area. There are two variants of the herpes simplex virus, HSV-1 and HSV-2. HSV-2 is most commonly associated with genital herpes, though it can cause oral herpes. HSV-1 is most commonly associated with oral herpes, or cold sores as its commonly called, although it can also cause genital herpes. HSV-1 is the variant of herpes that researchers believe is linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

What is Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is a disorder of the brain named for noted German doctor Alois Alzheimer. The disease is estimated to affect nearly six million Americans and is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States. Alzheimer’s disease attacks brain cells causing eventual loss of cognitive and memory function among other impairments such as changes in behavior. The disease progressively attacks the brain and eventually can be fatal.

It is believed that Alzheimer’s attacks the brain by means of developments called plaques and tangles. Plaques develop in between the nerve cells of the brain and contain proteins known as beta-amyloids. Tangles form inside dying brain cells and are essentially twisted fibers of a protein known as tau. The formation of plaques and tangles in the brain occurs normally over time, but in Alzheimer’s patients the formation of plaques and tangles are more pronounced. Plaques and tangles generally start forming in the areas of the brain devoted to learning and memory and then later spread to other parts of the brain.

Most people catch HSV-1 at some point in their lives. This infection is usually less severe than HSV-2 and causes occasional breakouts of cold sores in and around the mouth. HSV-1 can occasionally cause serious complications such as meningitis and encephalitis.

With regard to Alzheimer’s disease, HSV-1 DNA has been found to reside in the amyloid plaques that affect Alzheimer’s sufferers. According to research, about 90 percent of the plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers carry some HSV-1 DNA. This finding would suggest that HSV-1 has a major impact in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

According to researchers, the HSV-1 virus enters the brains of older adults as their immune systems begin to decline. Once gaining entry, the HSV-1 virus establishes a dormant infection which stress and other infections can recurrently activate. The HSV-1 flare ups in the brain causes damage to brain cells, which die and release amyloid proteins which eventually develop into plaques.

Researchers believe that antiviral agents commonly used in the treatment of HSV-1 can help mitigate the virus’ contribution to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. One particular antiviral agent that researchers believe will help in this process is aciclovir.

Aciclovir and testing for HSV-1

Aciclovir is an antiviral treatment commonly used in the treatment of herpes. Introduced in the early 1980s, aciclovir was the first antiviral drug to be used in the treatment of herpes. Aciclovir reduces HSV-1 and HSV-2 outbreaks by slowing down the disease’s replication in the body. It’s used as both a suppressive and topical treatment for herpes. Researchers believe that this will help slow or inhibit the HSV-1 virus from infecting the brain of older patients, thus reducing the creation of plaques in the brains of older patients, thus removing a contributing factor to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Because aciclovir is now available in generic form, it’s an accessible and affordable treatment option.

The key to beginning aciclovir treatment for HSV-1 is detecting the disease. Because HSV-1 symptoms tend to be much milder than those of HSV-2, many people with this form of herpes are unaware that they are infected.

HSV-1 can be detected by both blood and viral tests. If you have a sore in your mouth, there’s a good chance that you might have HSV-1, so its advisable to get tested. The tests are relatively painless and turnaround is fairly quick.

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease that impacts nearly one-fifth of the U.S. population. Recent studies show that being infected with genital herpes can increase your chances of getting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Studies also show that genital herpes can contribute to some serious complications for people already infected with HIV.

Herpes is a sexually transmitted disease that comes in two varieties, HSV-1 and HSV-2. HSV-1 generally effects the oral area, although it can occasionally impact the genital area. HSV-2 primarily impacts the genital area and is generally considered the more problematic of the two varieties of herpes. HSV-1 and HSV-2 can both impact the genital area, and symptoms related to genital herpes include blisters or sores in the genital area. These sores generally present themselves in an initial outbreak shortly after the infected person contracts herpes. Some infected persons have subsequent outbreaks, but these outbreaks tend to be less severe than the original.

Both HSV-1 and HSV-2 have been linked to increasing the chances that infected persons my contract HIV, although HSV-2 seems to be more of a factor in increasing risk of HIV infection. HIV, of course, is a sexually transmitted immunodeficiency virus that negatively impacts the body’s ability to fight off infections.  Once the body’s ability to fight illness is sufficiently compromised, the HIV infection is classified as AIDS. AIDS has been responsible for millions of deaths worldwide, as infected persons immune systems are unable to fight off other opportunistic infections.

Research indicates that genital herpes increases the risk of being infected with HIV, particularly during a herpes outbreak. A herpes outbreak is when the disease causes an eruption of blisters and sores in the genital area. When a person infected with genital herpes has an outbreak, that person’s immune system tries to heal the sores, thus concentrating many immune cells in one spot. These are the cells that HIV commonly infects. If, during sexual intercourse, blood, vaginal fluid or semen from a person infected with AIDS comes in contact with a herpes sore, the person with herpes runs a high risk of contracting HIV. Conversely, a person infected with HIV and herpes runs a larger risk of infecting his or her partner because sores may increase the partner’s exposure to the blood of the infected person.

People infected with HIV run a higher risk of being infected with herpes than the general population because of their weakened immune state as a result of the disease.

Herpes and HIV

If you have herpes and HIV, you can suffer from some very serious complications. According to research, herpes can worsen HIV, and vice versa. Studies show that active herpes infections can speed up the process of replication of the HIV virus. This means that the HIV will make copies of itself more quickly, destroying more of the body’s disease-fighting cells and hastening the onset of AIDS.

With regard to herpes, HIV can lead to more frequent and serious outbreaks. This happens because HIV weakens the immune system of the infected person, making outbreaks of herpes more likely, and limiting the body’s ability to quickly heal the sores and otherwise mitigate the effects of the virus.

A combination of HIV and herpes also raises some pretty significant treatment problems. For people with HIV and herpes, higher doses of antiviral drugs will be needed to treat herpes than those for people with just herpes. Compounding the problem is the fact that many people with HIV and herpes have strains of herpes that do not respond well to the usual antiviral drugs used to treat herpes.

Herpes treatments such as aciclovir have been shown to have an impact on slowing the replication of HIV. It is important to note, however, that herpes suppressive therapy does not lower chances of HIV infection, beyond removing some of the added risk involved with frequent herpes outbreaks.

One important way HIV and herpes infections can be reduced is by regular STD checks. Because both of these diseases can be asymptomatic for quite some time, people can go for years without knowing that they’re infected with one or the other. This increases the chances that these unknowingly infected persons can infect others. Frequent testing will keep people informed of their status with regard to HIV and herpes, and hopefully if people find out they have HIV, herpes or both, they’ll take steps to treat their illness and prevent it from spreading to others.

Because of the serious complications HIV and herpes can have when both are present, people with these diseases should consult carefully with their health care providers to manage their illnesses and prevent their further spread.