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Cytomegalovirus is present in a very high proportion of brains from vascular dementia patients

Wozniak, Matthew A.; Itzhaki, Ruth F.; Lin, Woan Ru; Wilcock, Gordon

Authors

Matthew A. Wozniak

Ruth F. Itzhaki

Woan Ru Lin

Gordon Wilcock



Abstract

We previously found that herpes simplex type 1 virus (HSV1), when present in brain of carriers of the apolipoprotein E type 4 allele is a strong risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. To find if HSV1 or certain other herpesviruses are involved in vascular dementia (VaD), we searched post mortem brain specimens from patients suffering from VaD for the presence of HSVl, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and human herpesvirus type 6 DNA, using polymerase chain reaction. We have found that a very high proportion of the VaD patients, 93% (14/15), but not of age-matched normals, 34% (10/29), harbor CMV DNA (P = 0.0002); the proportions of the patients harboring the other viruses in brain do not differ significantly from those of the normals. Further studies are needed to reveal whether or not the association of CMV with VaD is causal. © 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).

Citation

Wozniak, M. A., Itzhaki, R. F., Lin, W. R., & Wilcock, G. (2002). Cytomegalovirus is present in a very high proportion of brains from vascular dementia patients. Neurobiology of Disease, 9(1), 82-87. https://doi.org/10.1006/nbdi.2001.0465

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jan 1, 2002
Journal Neurobiology of Disease
Print ISSN 0969-9961
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Not Peer Reviewed
Volume 9
Issue 1
Pages 82-87
DOI https://doi.org/10.1006/nbdi.2001.0465
Keywords vascular dementia, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus type 1,human herpesvirus 6, polymerase chain reaction, brain
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1079471
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/nbdi.2001.0465


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