title: Herpes virus in Alzheimer's disease: relation to progression of the disease.
abstract: Studies regarding different viruses of the herpes family, such as cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), or human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are scarce. DNA from peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) and brain samples were analyzed for the presence of CMV, EBV, or HHV-6. All samples were negative for CMV. EBV positivity was 6% in AD brains, whereas 45% of PBL samples from AD patients and 31% from controls were positive for EBV (p = 0.05). HHV-6 showed a 23% positivity in PBL samples from AD and 4% from controls (p = 0.002). 17% of AD brains were HHV-6 positive. Within a group of elderly individuals, followed up for 5 years, EBV-positive or HHV-6-positive PBL increased in those who developed clinical AD. Virus serological positivity was also investigated, and IgG levels for CMV and EBV antigens were also increased in those subjects who developed AD during the follow-up. Our findings suggest that EBV and HHV-6 may be environmental risk factors for cognitive deterioration and progression to AD in elderly persons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), School of Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: ilaria.carbone2@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Carbone
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lazzarotto
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ianni
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Porcellini
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Forti
authors.forename: Eliezer
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Masliah
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gabrielli
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Licastro
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology / Q000821:virology*; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001921:Brain / Q000821:virology; D003071:Cognition; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Brain tissue samples; Herpes virus latency; Inflammatory plasma markers and cognitive decline; Nested PCR; Peripheral blood samples; Quantitative real time PCR