Can the Flu and Other Viruses Cause Neurodegeneration?

[kess3881]

“Scientists may need to seriously reconsider the cast-aside hypothesis that pathogens can play a part in diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s”.

Link to article:

https://www.the-scientist.com/features/can-the-flu-and-other-viruses-cause-neurodegeneration--65498

 

[jesse's mom]

Hi @kess3881 , that is an interesting article! In particular this quote from the article linked above,

The results were startling, he says: some viruses weren’t blocked from entering the brain by the blood-brain barrier—a semipermeable layer of cells that separates the central nervous system from the body’s circulation. H5N1, for example, could easily infiltrate nerve cells in the brain and kill them, and it appeared to especially target the dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra.1 And while the H1N1 flu strain couldn’t cross the blood-brain barrier, it still caused central nervous system immune cells called microglia to flow into the substantia nigra and the hippocampus, causing inflammation and cell death in the area.2

I had the flu in 2017 and my ME/CFS went from moderate to severe. When I got out of the hospital after 11 days I could not read, I forgot how to knit and sew. I have gotten most of the ability to read back, but I am constantly having to teach things to myself that I had mastered by the time I was a teen, such as, hemming pants. It has been baby steps for me.

 

[Hip]

“Scientists may need to seriously reconsider the cast-aside hypothesis that pathogens can play a part in diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s”.

Hallelujah!

 

[Chocolove]

Clearly some viruses stay in the body evolving in various ways, going dormant or otherwise hidden until otherwise noticed... Just scan these link briefs on Chickenpox...Shingles, a virus that many folks have had...
and still have.

Facts About Chickenpox and Shingles for Adults - National Foundation ...

www.nfid.org/publications/factsheets/varicellaadult.pd

1. Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. When people are first infected with the varicella-zoster virus, usually as children, they get chickenpox. Years or decades later, the virus can reactivate and cause shingles. Anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk of shingles.

2. Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is a highly neurotropic, exclusively human herpesvirus. Primary infection causes varicella (chickenpox), wherein VZV replicates in multiple organs, particularly the skin. ... VZV reactivation produces zoster (shingles), often complicated by serious neurological and ocular disorders.Sep 4, 2013
Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV)-Human Neuron Interaction - NCBI - NIH

3. Varicella-zoster virus causes chickenpox (varicella) in childhood, becomes latent in dorsal root ganglia, and can reactivate years later to produce shingles (zoster, zona) in adults, as well as postherpetic neuralgia and vasculopathies, which may involve brain, spinal cord, emergent cranial nerves, or peripheral nerves ...Mar 27, 2018Varicella-zoster virus infections of the nervous system - Introduction
www.medlink.com/article/varicella-zoster_virus_infections_of_the_nervous_system

4. How dormant infections caused by childhood chicken pox can -- decades later -- trigger shingles
Date: June 4, 2015 Source: Bar-Ilan University Summary: Scientists report on a novel experimental model that, for the first time, successfully mimics the 'sleeping' and 'waking' of the varicella-zoster virus. Based on neurons generated from human embryonic stem cells, and not requiring the use of experimental animals, the model allows scientists to test drugs and develop therapies to prevent shingles. It may also contribute to the fight against other viruses -- such as herpes and polio -- that target the human nervous system.
ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 June 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150604162557.htm>.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3798892/

5. After the initial infection, chickenpox virus resides in ganglia along the spine and in the brain, and later might cause the disease shingles. Both shingles and chicken pox can lead to neurological complications such as encephalitis, meningitis, halfsingle-sided facial paralysis and stroke. Jun 14, 2013Shingles underlies many infections in the brain - University of ...

https://sahlgrenska.gu.se/.../shingles-underlies-many-infections-in-the-brain.cid1174177

6. Varicella zoster virus vasculopathies: diverse clinical manifestations ...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2814602/
by D Gilden - ‎2009 - ‎Cited by 361 - ‎Related articles
Vasculopathies caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV) are indicative of a productive virus infection in cerebral arteries after either reactivation of VZV (shingles) ...

 

[Sidny]

Great post, thanks! If chickenpox creates so much long term havoc in the body I don’t doubt any number of these other viruses like EBV and other HHVs are capable of the same. Now all we need are good broad spectrum antivirals or cures for these things.

 

[Sidny]

This article makes me wonder though... shouldn’t we all be on some sort of prophylactic antiviral for human herpes virus even if not “symptomatic”? I mean what can we do if were infected with any of these to mitigate their role in neurodegeneration during our lifetimes? Even if we don’t have an overt illness like ME/CFS it seems like these pathogens are slowly destroying our CNS regardless.