Article: Flu and Herpes Infections Linked to Later Neurological Disease

[Sing]

http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/2245-virus-infection-brain-disease.html

Today an article was published in MyHealthNewsDaily and MSNBC home page about research showing a link between flu and herpes infections and the later development of neurological
diseases such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons. It did not mention ME/CFS but it certainly could have. Let's comment or try to contact this researcher--

 

[Sing]

I wanted to highlight this from the article above:

"Viruses and other sources of inflammation "may be initiating factors in some of the most common neurological diseases," said Dr. Ole Isacson, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, who discussed the topic in an article published today (Feb. 15) in the journal Science Translational Medicine." In fact, his research is showing that they are linked.

 

[natasa778]

Very interesting, thanks for posting. My highlights:

It's possible that toning down the inflammation that occurs shortly after viral infection could reduce cell damage and the risk of subsequent brain disease, Isacson said. Isacson pointed to a 2011 study of 135,000 men and women found that those who took ibuprofen (a medication that can reduce inflammation) were 30 percent less likely to develop Parkinson's over a six year period compared to those who did not take the medication.

Several weeks after infection, inflammatory molecules known as cytokines reach a peak concentration, Isacson said. It's this "cytokine storm" that Isacson and his colleagues suspect is responsible for the brain cell damage associated with viral infections.

 

[Enid]

Yes very interesting - thanks Sing.

 

[Sing]

It seems like a "sea change" for medical researchers, doctors and the public to recognize that the brain is a part of the body! Why have people assumed immunity for the brain, while the body is suffering through the storm of an illness? Maybe it is the old Dualism, the Mind/Body Dualism, at work, in which the brain/mind has been viewed as "above the fray"?

It is so ironic, because psychiatry has been increasingly medicalizing every type of behavior or feeling that society regards as undesirable, calling them first "Disorders", which then become diagnoses and categories of "Mental Illness", which are then treated by pharmaceuticals. So you would think that the idea that the brain is an integral part of the body could have been incorporated into their understanding and study of the effects of influenza, herpes, giardia, etc. (as recent research is starting to show). Well, folks, now they are starting to get it and look at the long term consequences of such infections. So I hope that the dots will begin to connect--and we can help with this!--to ME/CFS soon.

 

[Dreambirdie]

It seems like a "sea change" for medical researchers, doctors and the public to recognize that the brain is a part of the body! Why have people assumed immunity for the brain, while the body is suffering through the storm of an illness? Maybe it is the old Dualism, the Mind/Body Dualism, at work, in which the brain/mind has been viewed as "above the fray"?

Yes, separating the brain from the body has been a big mistake. As those of us with ME know all too well, viruses have a huge negative impact on the neurological system. I'm glad someone in the medical community has (finally) investigated just how huge that can be.

Though seeing the brain as "mind," I think is an error too. Mind, aka consciousness, is not confined to the brain. But that's a whole other issue.

 

[natasa778]

It seems like a "sea change" for medical researchers, doctors and the public to recognize that the brain is a part of the body! Why have people assumed immunity for the brain, while the body is suffering through the storm of an illness? Maybe it is the old Dualism, the Mind/Body Dualism, at work, in which the brain/mind has been viewed as "above the fray"?

Exactly! As if the brain is not just simply an organ. Even allowing for its 'immune privilege' status, this organ is still very susceptible and reactive to immune events that happen in the periphery, not to mention its function being greatly influenced by the functioning and health of the tissue that surrounds it and feeds it etc.