The herpes virus that produces cold sores during times of stress now has been linked to cognitive impairment throughout life, according to a new University of Michigan study that for the first time shows an impact on children ages 12 to 16. Researchers at the U-M School of Public Health study examined the association between two latent herpes viruses— Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 and cytomegalovirus (CMV)— and cognitive impairment among individuals across three age groups: 6-16, 20-59, and 60 and older. The researchers used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. HSV-1 is the oral herpes virus. Previous research has linked it with neurological disorders associated with aging, including Alzheimer's disease and dementia, but few studies have examined whether these pathogens may influence cognition beginning early in life. "This study is a first step in establishing an association between these viruses and cognition across a range of ages in the U.S. population," said Allison Aiello, associate professor of epidemiology at the U-M School of Public Health. The research, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, demonstrates that HSV-1 is associated with lower reading and spatial reasoning test scores among children ages 12-16; impaired coding speed, which is a measure of visual motor speed and attention, among middle-aged adults; and immediate memory impairment in older adults. CMV also was associated with impairment in coding speed, learning and recall in middle-aged adults. More than one third of the U.S. population is positive for these viruses by early childhood. Some individuals may not be symptomatic. "If HSV-1 begins to have impact on cognitive function early in life, HSV-1 infection in childhood may have important consequences for educational attainment and social mobility across the lifespan," said Amanda Simanek, formerly an assistant research scientist in the U-M Department of Epidemiology and now an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. "Once acquired, herpes viruses are never cleared from the body and instead persist in a latent state. Such pathogens are, however, subject to reactivation and capable of invading the central nervous system, where they may exert direct damage to brain." Simanek said reactivation of herpes viruses triggers the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which have been linked to cognitive impairment. Cytokines are hormones involved in cell signaling and regulation; pro-inflammatory cytokines play an important role in the immunological response to infection and tissue injury. Excessive inflammation, however, has been linked to various chronic disease outcomes. To date, much of the public health focus surrounding herpes viruses has been on treating symptoms and some on prevention. "If future research continues to support this work and identifies a definitive mechanistic pathway, there are several implications for public health preventive measures," Aiello said. "For example, antivirals targeted against these infections may be recommended as well as continued efforts in developing vaccines to target HSV-1 and CMV. "These viruses are very ubiquitous and reactivate in response to exposure to stressors. If they are truly detrimental to cognitive function, individuals may want to consider reducing stress to avoid reactivation and possible damage associated with these infections, especially if they are known to be positive for HSV-1 as indicated by the presence of cold sores during times of stress." http://www.biosciencetechnology.com...35&et_rid=505689458&location=top#.UqIxrid3OZA Don't rush this post into cesspool as you did HIV
Not just herpes, any infection, and not just cognition, but susceptibility to stroke, and other diseases probably. http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/41/3/e117.long But what was your point?
Shit do I have to have a point, what point should I have ? Should I say go get infected with Herpes an enjoy and passed on
Generally, when people post a fact, they have some reason why they did so. But perhaps you like to quote random facts. 70% of the population is infected with Herpes. Unless you go around wrapped in plastic, you are twice as likely to get it as not. You do know that the commonly called "cold sore" is herpes, don't you? The problem is not the disease, but the body's response to the disease. Permanent changes are made to such things as "Carotid Plaque Thickness"
So fine some more information was squeezed out. I had the understanding Herpes is transmitted sexually , or passing fluids
Fluids, yes. A cold sore produces fluid. Billions of viruses in a tiny smear. If a mother with an active sore kisses her child, a new lifetime sufferer is made. Genital Herpes is a different subspecies, which takes advantage of close sexual contact. Having lots of sexual partners gives many diseases opportunity to spread. The more diseases you have had, the more geared-up your body is against future attack. The study says this can lead to heart attacks, strokes, cognition problems etc. That sounds like a reasonable hypothesis. So you can probably add having few sexual partners to the list of things to do to have a long life. Was that your point?
My point is to stimulate dormid readers with valuable opinion , so they enlighten us with less knowledge , Thank you for posting
I usually get cold sores before my cold or flu symptoms show up or in high stress weeks, obviously any stress on the body has long range repercussions but we weren't meant to live forever, as for cognitive impairment, I haven't noticed it, hell, my dad's in his 80's and has no cognitive impairment. Anyway, I think as we live longer, the possibility for debilitating illness increases, but then again the human body can be pretty resilient.
An entire generation of us Americans got little herpes blisters on our mouth area from those old - fashioned drinking fountains they put in schools that allowed the water to run off your mouth and onto the mechanism top so as to spread diseases. They are no longer made that way, but it seemed at the time that all of us had caught herpes simplex that way. It was just a little blister or 2 maybe a mm in diameter, not the large bloody blisters that have evolved from that early type of infection. 'Course I got the shingles shot having had chicken pox as a child as well - another herpes infection. I see arauca got himself banned. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
It's about time. Although some of his posts were interesting, there were far too MANY insults, etc. that badly outweighed them.
