What do cold sores and Alzheimer’s disease have in common? A pair of new studies suggests there could be a link between an increased risk of Alzheimer’s and the herpes virus that gives you cold sores that erupt in or near your mouth.
Researchers from Umeå University in Sweden found that being a carrier of herpes simplex virus 1 nearly doubled a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. In a second study, the investigators followed 3,432 people for an average of 11.3 years, and found that a reactivated herpes simplex 1 infection doubled one’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Herpes simplex virus 1 infections are very common. The majority of the population carries herpes simplex 1, the virus responsible for most cold sores. Once you are infected, you carry the virus for life. From time to time, the virus can become active, which causes the cold sores.
We talked with Alzheimer’s specialist Jagan Pillai, MD, about the studies to find out what they mean…
Tag: alzheimer’s
‘Car Talk’ Host’s Death: How Does Alzheimer’s Disease Kill?
Tom Magliozzi, one of the hosts of the National Public Radio show “Car Talk,” died yesterday (Nov. 3) from complications of Alzheimer’s disease, according to news reports. But how does Alzheimer’s disease kill?
Neil Gaiman: ‘Terry Pratchett isn’t jolly. He’s angry’
Terry Pratchett may strike many as a twinkly old elf, but that’s not him at all. Fellow sci-fi novelist Neil Gaiman on the inner rage that drives his ailing friend’s writing … [read more] …
Terry Pratchett is not a jolly old elf at all. Not even close. He’s so much more than that. As Terry walks into the darkness much too soon, I find myself raging too: at the injustice that deprives us of – what? Another 20 or 30 books? Another shelf-full of ideas and glorious phrases and old friends and new, of stories in which people do what they really do best, which is use their heads to get themselves out of the trouble they got into by not thinking? Another book or two of journalism and agitprop? But truly, the loss of these things does not anger me as it should. It saddens me, but I, who have seen some of them being built close-up, understand that any Terry Pratchett book is a small miracle, and we already have more than might be reasonable, and it does not behoove any of us to be greedy.
I rage at the imminent loss of my friend. And I think, “What would Terry do with this anger?” Then I pick up my pen, and I start to write.
Slow Dancing With A Stranger: A Caregiver’s Account of Alzheimer’s Cost
The symptoms were hardly noticeable at first. In fact, had Meryl Comer not been a veteran TV news reporter, she might have missed the subtle changes in her husband’s behavior. Even then, she chalked up his sudden lack of focus and lightning-quick temper to job stress: Harvey Gralnick had a prestigious position as a physician and chief of hematology/oncology research at the National Institutes of Health. Two years and countless medical exams later, Comer’s husband finally was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. By that time, the disease had already scrambled their lives and dashed their dreams. Gralnick was 57; Comer was just 50.
If Alzheimer’s is about forgetting, Comer’s just released book, Slow Dancing with a Stranger, is about bearing witness to everything Alzheimer’s took from her husband and her family. Equally important, it’s a call to action for women who, as caregivers, are most often Alzheimer’s second victim. What distresses Comer is that there are no better options for women today around care than there were 20 years ago. There are still no disease-modifying drugs or treatments for Alzheimer’s, a fatal neurodegenerative disease that has no cure.
Slow Dancing With A Stranger: A Caregiver’s Account of Alzheimer’s Cost
Mindfulness training helps Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers
Learning to focus on the present may boost quality of life not only for dementia patients but also those who struggle to care for them
Mindfulness training helps Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers
People With Down Syndrome Are Pioneers In Alzheimer’s Research
Alzheimer’s researchers are increasingly interested in people like McCowan because “people with Down syndrome represent the world’s largest population of individuals predisposed to getting Alzheimer’s disease,” says Michael Rafii, director of the Memory Disorders Clinic at UCSD.
Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that’s best known for causing intellectual disability. But it also causes Alzheimer’s. “By the age of 40, 100 percent of all individuals with Down syndrome have the pathology of Alzheimer’s in their brain,” Rafii says.
People With Down Syndrome Are Pioneers In Alzheimer’s Research
Recognizing and Managing Caregiver Stress
Caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias can experience high levels of stress. Learn 10 symptoms of caregiver stress and get tips on avoiding burnout. Find caregiver support, online and from your local chapter.
Definitely have to take some time to take care of ourselves. If we burn out, it will make it that much harder to care for those we love.
Holding the Bowl 