The evidence for persistent viral infection by herpesviruses and others to be a significant cause of Alzheimer’s disease is mixed and contradictory. There are clear and well understood mechanisms by which persistent infection can in principle contribute to neurodegeneration, but only some epidemiological data supports the a role for viral infection in Alzheimer’s disease. It may be that the contribution is small, or emerges very slowly over a long time, or it may be that only a subset of patients exhibit the necessary biochemistry for persistent infection to play a major role in neurodegenerative disease. Once clinical trials start to show that no beneficial effect results from ant…
Antiviral Treatment Fails to Slow the Progression of Early Stage Alzheimer's Disease
The evidence for persistent viral infection by herpesviruses and others to be a significant cause of Alzheimer’s disease is mixed and contradictory. There are clear and well understood mechanisms by which persistent infection can in principle contribute to neurodegeneration, but only some epidemiological data supports the a role for viral infection in Alzheimer’s disease. It may be that the contribution is small, or emerges very slowly over a long time, or it may be that only a subset of patients exhibit the necessary biochemistry for persistent infection to play a major role in neurodegenerative disease. Once clinical trials start to show that no beneficial effect results from ant…