Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), School of Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Neurobiol Aging. 2014 Jan;35(1):122-9. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2013.06.024. Epub 2013 Aug 3.
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.
关于疱疹家族的不同病毒，如巨细胞病毒（CMV）、爱泼斯坦-巴尔病毒（EBV）或人类疱疹病毒 6（HHV-6）在阿尔茨海默病（AD）中的研究很少。分析外周血白细胞（PBL）和脑组织样本中 CMV、EBV 或 HHV-6 的存在情况。所有样本均为 CMV 阴性。AD 患者的脑组织中 EBV 阳性率为 6%，而 AD 患者的 PBL 样本中有 45%和对照组中有 31%的 EBV 阳性（p = 0.05）。HHV-6 在 AD 患者的 PBL 样本中阳性率为 23%，而对照组中为 4%（p = 0.002）。AD 患者的大脑中有 17%呈 HHV-6 阳性。在一组随访 5 年的老年人中，那些发展为临床 AD 的患者的 EBV 阳性或 HHV-6 阳性 PBL 增加。还调查了病毒血清学阳性情况，在随访期间发生 AD 的受试者中，CMV 和 EBV 抗原的 IgG 水平也升高。我们的研究结果表明，EBV 和 HHV-6 可能是老年人认知能力下降和发展为 AD 的环境危险因素。
