Cold Sores Linked to Alzheimers

ALBUQUERQUE, April 7 – Cold sores on the lips and mouth might be linked to Alzheimers, U.S. researchers suggest. Herpes Simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) that causes cold sores on the lips, mouth or gums can lead to dementia, according to a study published by the PLoS ONE journal.

The main scientist, University of New Mexico’s Dr. Elaine Bearer with colleagues at Brown University and House Ear Institute says that cold sore infections grow inside cells and persist in a latent form inside nerve cells. Re-activation and growth of this cold sores infection contribute to cognitive decline which is associated with Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Lead author Dr. Elaine Bearer states: “Cold sores infects mucous membranes, such as the lip or eye, and generates viral particles,”. “These viral particles burst out of the cells of the mucous membrane and enter sensory nerve cells where they travel inside the nerve toward the brain.”

The researchers tagged the Cold sores virus inside cells with a green fluorescent protein and watched the cold sore particles emerge from infected cells. These newly produced cold sore viral particles exit the cell nucleus and then bud into cellular membranes containing amyloid precursor protein — the major component of senile plaques found in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimers.

The journal PLoS ONE, indicate that most intracellular herpes particles undergo frequent, dynamic interplay with amyloid precursor proteins, which facilitates viral cold sore transport.

This interesting interaction reveals a mechanism by which cold sores infection leads to Alzheimer’s disease, which strongly suggests a causal link between cold sores and dementia, the researchers say.