Viral reactivation "throwing a wrench" in the brain

[Paw]

The researchers of this newly published Alzheimer's study say they had no intention of focusing on dormant herpes viruses but the data kept "screaming" for their attention. While they don't believe the viruses are directly causing the disease they think certain conditions create complex, interrelated changes in both the brain and the virus.

Here's a pretty good summary. A lot of what they're looking at sounds familiar (immune responses, plaque accumulation, etc), but it sounds like they're just beginning to unravel the mystery.

Seems to me possible they are investigating patterns that could relate to other, less funded, diseases.

 

[Remy]

Very interesting!

I'll be curious to know which antiviral they choose to use in the study too.

 

[dejurgen]

After Issie pointed out that yucca also has an enzyme that can help digest proteins I looked into yucca:

"Yucca... ...there is some interesting in vivo research about it's anti viral properties. It has a protein that can inhibit herpes virus 1 and 2 and human cytomegalovirus multiplication at moderate doses and reduce them at high doses https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0166354292900273."

note: I don't have access to the full paper; after rereading the abstract I am unsure if it was in vivo or in vitro research.

Quote from the paper itself:
"YLP was found to exert strong inhibition of protein synthesis in virus-infected cells but not in uninfected cells. This selective effect can be considered to attribute mainly to the antiviral activity of YLP."