Scientists at the US National Institutes of Health have discovered a link between common viral infections that people encounter every day and future brain diseases. The research findings were published on Neuron last week.
The study shows that dozens of viral infections can affect our brain health, increasing the risk of certain brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers came to these conclusions using data from a project that looked at the long-term health of 450,000 people living in Finland and the United Kingdom.
Common infections like the flu can affect brain diseases
Experts looked for possible links between viral infections that lead to hospitalization and six neurodegenerative diseases. These diseases included common things like Alzheimer’s, ALS, multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s.
Finnish data found 45 viral infections linked to an increased risk of neurodegenerative disease. Analyzes were also performed on UK data to check the results. Finally, similar associations were found across 22 types of viral infections in both datasets.
These included common infections such as the flu (influenza), varicella zoster (the virus that causes chickenpox). It was also among the explanations that brain health can be affected for up to 15 years in some, and that the strongest link is between encephalitis (brain inflammation) and Alzheimer’s.
Of course, the study does not establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship between viral infection and brain diseases. Much more research is needed on the subject
This is not the first research to link viral infections to neurological diseases. Previous studies have yielded similar results. Some have even shown that there may be strong links between herpes viruses and Alzheimer’s.
However, it should be noted that, like most studies, this one shows a correlation, that is, it does not establish a definite and direct cause-effect link. Even if that happens, it’s important to remember that other factors will certainly have an impact on the risk of brain disease. After all, we all get chickenpox once in our lives; however, only less than 1% of the population gets MS.
However, if such research continues, it will be necessary to develop treatments to prevent the ill effects of these infections. Experts underline that much more work is needed on the subject.
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