Herpes Simplex virus, which causes cold sores, is transmitted through the skin and can recur throughout life. Although it is usually seen around the lips and nose, it can also be seen in the eyes, brain or genital areas. Although it is a contagious virus mostly caused by the shared use of personal belongings, it can also occur as a result of hormonal changes, fear or intense stress. Although it passes by itself in a healthy human body in about a week, it may vary from person to person and may require serious treatment methods.
When the herpes simplex virus is infected, it settles in the bodies of nerve cells, and when it finds a suitable environment, it causes herpes to occur on the skin. A new study has been published on how the virus invades nerve cells by a group of researchers from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in the USA. Gregory Smith, one of the researchers, underlined that discovering this path of the virus to enter our nervous system is very effective for the methods to be developed in the spread and treatment of the virus.
“It can be prevented from reaching our nervous system”
Herpes Simplex virus takes place in the immune system before transferring its DNA to the nervous system. Usually, when it finds a suitable environment due to stress or health problems, it manifests itself in the form of bubbles filled with liquid on the skin. Previous studies had shown that the virus spread by penetrating molecules called dynein. According to the article published in the journal Nature, it was discovered that the Herpes Simplex virus, which causes herpes, reaches a protein called kinesin.
When the spreading rate of the virus was examined, it was revealed that it reached a protein called “kinesin” as well as the “dynein” molecule and thus spread to our nervous system much faster. Gregory Smith, an immunologist from Northwestern University, explained that by preventing the Herpes Simplex virus from reaching the protein called kinesin, it can be transformed into a virus that does not invade the nervous system and poses a much less danger.
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