Neurology: Herpes virus affects white matter and cognitive function in the elderly

Age-related cognitive decline remains a prominent public health challenge, with Alzheimer's disease (AD) accounting for the majority (i.

Although the infectious causes of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have regained traction, with particular attention to the herpes virus, the longitudinal effects of symptomatic herpes virus (sHHV) infection on brain structure and cognition are still poorly understood, and the effects
of sHHV on AD/neurodegenerative biomarkers remain poorly understood.

Michael R.

The study used a longitudinal, community-based cohort to describe the relationship between the diagnosis of sHHV and changes in brain volume and cognitive capacity in 3T MRI
.

A total of 1009 participants were included in the study's preliminary MRI analysis, and 98% of the participants had normal cognition at baseline MRI (mean age = 65.

Experimental process

1.

Table 2.

2.

In 119 sHHV participants, antiviral therapy mitigated the decline in occipital white matter (p = 0.

4.

Figure 3: Estimated changes in the overall scores of attention, executive function, speech memory, and attention (as a function of age) associated with the diagnosis of sHHV

Figure 4: Plasma biomarkers associated with the diagnosis of sHHV (normalized values)

5.

The study showed that in older adults living in the community, sHHV was associated
with a sharp decline in white matter volume, particularly the temporal lobe, and attention (a cognitive area that is particularly vulnerable to the disruption of white matter integrity).

Source of the original text

Herpes Viruses in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging: Associations With Brain Volumes, Cognitive Performance, and Plasma Biomarkers.