Repeated head injuries suffered by sports players and military personnel — a known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease — may induce dementia by reactivating the dormant herpes virus in neural tissues, according to laboratory experiments.
The research at Tufts and Oxford universities, using stem cells turned to organoids or “brains in a dish”, offers more evidence that viruses, particularly those in the herpes family that are present in the majority of adults, play an important role in the development of Alzheimer’s.
The study, published on Tuesday in the journal Science Signalling, could speed up research into antiviral drugs that slow the onset of degenerative diseases.
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