Publisher Health

An innovative treatment significantly increases the survival of people with malignant mesothelioma, a rare but rapidly fatal type of cancer with few effective treatment options, according to results from a clinical trial led by Queen Mary University of London.
The phase 3 clinical trial, led by Professor Peter Szlosarek at Queen Mary and sponsored by Polaris Pharmaceuticals, has unveiled a breakthrough in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a rare and often rapidly fatal form of cancer with limited therapeutic options.
Mick’s journey with mesothelioma: “I have five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren now — I wouldn’t want to miss all that.”
The ATOMIC-meso trial, a randomised placebo-controlled study of 249 patients with MPM, found that a treatment — which combines a new drug, ADI-PEG20, with traditional chemotherapy — increased the median survival of participants by 1.6 months, and quadrupled the survival at 36 months, compared to placebo-chemotherapy.
The findings are significant, as MPM has one of the lowest 5-year survival rates of any solid cancer of around 5-10%. This innovative approach marks the first successful combination of chemotherapy with a drug that targets cancer’s metabolism developed for this disease in 20 years.
MPM is a rare, aggressive cancer that affects the lining of the lungs and is associated with exposure to asbestos. It’s usually treated with potent chemotherapy drugs, but these are seldom able to halt the progression of the disease.
The premise behind this new drug treatment is elegant in its simplicity — starving the tumour by cutting off its food supply. All cells need nutrients to grow and multiply, including amino acids like arginine. ADI-PEG20 works by depleting arginine levels in the bloodstream. For tumour cells that can’t manufacture their arginine due to a missing enzyme, this means their growth is thwarted.

The ATOMIC-meso trial is the culmination of 20 years of research at Queen Mary’s Barts Cancer Institute that began with Professor Szlosarek’s discovery that malignant mesothelioma cells lack a protein called ASS1, which enables cells to manufacture their own arginine. He and his team have since dedicated their efforts to using this knowledge to create an effective treatment for patients with MPM.
Professor Szlosarek said: “It’s truly wonderful to see the research into the arginine starvation of cancer cells come to fruition. This discovery is something I have been driving from its earliest stages in the lab, with a new treatment, ADI-PEG20, now improving patient lives affected by mesothelioma. I thank all the patients and families, investigators and their teams, and Polaris Pharmaceuticals for their commitment to defining a new cancer therapy.”
Dr Tayyaba Jiwani, Science Engagement Manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “This study shows the power of discovery research which allows us to dig deep into the biology of mesothelioma to uncover vulnerabilities that we can now target with ADI-PEG20.
“Cancer Research UK is delighted to have funded the early stages of this research, including a preliminary clinical trial which established the safety and effectiveness of this drug.”
There are ongoing studies assessing ADI-PEG20 in patients who have sarcoma or glioblastoma multiforme (a type of brain tumour) and other cancers dependent on arginine. The success of this novel chemotherapy in MPM also suggests that the drug may be of benefit in the treatment of multiple other types of cancer. 
Mick’s journey with mesothelioma
Mick worked in a factory boiler room in the 1970s, where he was exposed to asbestos. In 2018, he visited his doctor after he began to feel unwell and had lost three stone in weight. He became anaemic and was eventually diagnosed with mesothelioma.

“It was a bit of a shock: I was given four months to live,” Mick explains. His doctor referred him to Professor Szlosarek, who enrolled him in the ATOMIC-meso trial. “I always believed in Peter. I said: ‘I’m in it to win it — you’re not getting rid of me.’ And here I am five years later.”
For two years, Mick visited St Bartholomew’s Hospital every week, accompanied by his wife, Jackie, or one of his children or grandchildren. “I’d have two injections of the new treatment — one in each arm. I didn’t have any serious side effects,” Mick explains. “I met many of the other people on the trial. Over time, some of them disappeared. But I kept going.”
Mick was awarded compensation from his former employer responsible for the asbestos exposure that ultimately led to his mesothelioma. Around 80% of mesothelioma cases are caused by workplace exposure.
Two and a half years after Mick enrolled on the ATOMIC-meso trial, his mesothelioma returned and he received a second course of treatment, this time immunotherapy. He experienced more side effects with this therapy, including encephalitis. But his cancer remains under control, and recently he was able to celebrate his 80th birthday. Professor Szlosarek and his team plan to study why certain patients, such as Mick, benefit so greatly from ADI-PEG20, in the hope of discovering how to extend this benefit to more people.
Mick says: “This trial has changed the lives of people with mesothelioma, allowing us to live longer. I have five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren now — I wouldn’t want to miss all that.”

The stomach cancer study was shot through with suspicious data. Identical constellations of cells were said to depict separate experiments on wholly different biological lineages. Photos of tumor-stricken mice, used to show that a drug reduced cancer growth, had been featured in two previous papers describing other treatments.Problems with the study were severe enough that its publisher, after finding that the paper violated ethics guidelines, formally withdrew it within a few months of its publication in 2021. The study was then wiped from the internet, leaving behind a barren web page that said nothing about the reasons for its removal.As it turned out, the flawed study was part of a pattern. Since 2008, two of its authors — Dr. Sam S. Yoon, chief of a cancer surgery division at Columbia University’s medical center, and a more junior cancer biologist — have collaborated with a rotating cast of researchers on a combined 26 articles that a British scientific sleuth has publicly flagged for containing suspect data. A medical journal retracted one of them this month after inquiries from The New York Times.A Columbia University cancer surgeon, Dr. Sam S. Yoon, and a junior researcher have published a combined 26 articles that a data sleuth said contained irregularities.Marcus Santos/ZUMA Wire, AlamyMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where Dr. Yoon worked when much of the research was done, is now investigating the studies. Columbia’s medical center declined to comment on specific allegations, saying only that it reviews “any concerns about scientific integrity brought to our attention.”Dr. Yoon, who has said his research could lead to better cancer treatments, did not answer repeated questions. Attempts to speak to the other researcher, Changhwan Yoon, an associate research scientist at Columbia, were also unsuccessful.

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The NewsTaking abortion pills prescribed through telemedicine and received by mail — a method used by growing numbers of abortion patients — is as safe and effective as when the pills are obtained by visiting a doctor, a large new study found. The method was about 98 percent effective and was safe for over 99 percent of patients, the study reported.Mifepristone, the first pill given in the two-drug medication abortion regimen.Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersThe researchThe study, led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, looked at the experience of more than 6,000 patients in the months after the federal government began allowing abortion pills to be mailed, from April 2021 to January 2022.The patients used one of three telemedicine abortion organizations — Hey Jane, Abortion on Demand or Choix — that served 20 states and Washington, D.C. The research, published on Thursday in Nature Medicine, ended five months before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, igniting a wave of state abortion bans and restrictions. Since then, more telemedicine services have opened, and are used by many patients who consider the method more convenient, private and affordable than visiting clinics or doctors, especially if they have to travel to another state.The services in the study prescribed pills to patients who were 10 weeks pregnant or less (one service had an eight-week limit) and screened patients for medical issues that would make them ineligible, like ectopic pregnancies or blood-clotting disorders.In most cases, the services’ doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and midwives were able to determine eligibility from patients’ written or verbal information about their pregnancy and health, without requiring them to have ultrasounds, which are logistically difficult for some patients to obtain. If medical eligibility was unclear, patients were asked to get ultrasounds — 486 did and were then prescribed pills, comprising about 8 percent of the 6,034 patients who received pills in the study.The resultsResearchers reviewed the medical records of the services and were able to determine abortion outcomes for three-fourths, or 4,454, of the patients. A vast majority — 4,351 patients, or 97.7 percent — completed abortions with the standard regimen: mifepristone, which stops a pregnancy’s development, followed a day or two later by misoprostol, which causes contractions to expel the tissue.Of the remaining patients, 85 needed additional measures to complete the abortion, usually with additional medication or a suction procedure in a medical facility.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Tell us about your IVF experience.As women have begun having babies later in life, the number of patients going through in vitro fertilization treatment has increased significantly.The medical treatment can be life-changing, but it also comes at a price, as some couples go deeply into debt to pay for medical care that health insurance does not always cover. Some research has questioned the effectiveness of newer aspects of fertility treatment, like genetic screenings, and some patients have filed lawsuits claiming that faulty chemicals destroyed their embryos. Private equity companies, seeing the industry’s rapid growth, have been buying up some of the country’s largest fertility clinics.The New York Times is looking to hear from readers who can share their recent experiences with in vitro fertilization treatment. Hearing from patients helps us better understand where we should focus our reporting.We will not publish any part of your response to this questionnaire without talking with you first. We will not share your contact information outside the Times newsroom, and we will use it only to reach out to you. If you’d feel more comfortable sharing your story with us anonymously, please visit our tips page.

Published53 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Nick TriggleHealth correspondentThe number of patients waiting more than 12 hours for a bed on a ward after being seen in A&E in England was 19 times higher this winter than it was before the pandemic, figures show.There were nearly 100,000 12-hour waits in December and January – compared to just over 5,000 in 2019-20.A decade ago these waits were virtually unheard of – in the four winters up to 2013-14 there were fewer than 100.The King’s Fund said long delays were at risk of becoming normalised.It said the pressures this winter had received little attention compared to last winter, despite no significant improvement in performance.

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During December 2023 and January 2024, 98,300 patients waited more than 12 hours for a bed on a ward after A&E doctors took the decision to admit them.These tend to be the sickest and frailest patient – and this wait comes after they have already waited to be seen in the first place after arriving at A&E.Delays waiting to be seen in A&E are also much worse than they were before the pandemic – more than 30% of patients have waited over four hours over the past two months. One of those who has faced a long wait this winter is Alasdair Duncan, 32, from the West Midlands. He spent 23 hours in A&E after going in with a heart issue before being admitted on to a ward.He said the hospital was “cripplingly understaffed”.”It was a long wait. You just see how stretched everything is. There were clearly a lot of people struggling to get care.” He was discharged after tests ruled out any concerning, ongoing heart problems.Other parts of the UK are also struggling. Data is only available up to the end of December, but it shows Northern Ireland has the worst performance, with 60% of patients waiting over four hours.The Northern Ireland branch of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said the pressures were “unsurmountable” and it was having a detrimental impact on patients. On waits in England, RCEM vice president Dr Ian Higginson said measures put in place by the government and NHS England – which including opening 5,000 extra hospital beds and creating 10,000 virtual beds whereby patients with respiratory and heart conditions get extra care in the community to keep them out of hospital – had failed to have much of an impact.He said hospitals were over-crowded and just as unsafe, if not more unsafe, than last year.”The plans have made little real difference to the experience of patients,” he said.Saoirse Mallorie, a senior analyst at The King’s Fund, said while the pressures on the NHS have not had as much attention as last year the situation was very similar. “We are at risk of normalising incredibly poor performance,” she said.NHS England medical director Prof Sir Stephen Powis said the NHS had been under significant pressure this winter describing it as “one of the busiest winters ever” – and that was continuing into February.He pointed out the number of patients in hospital with flu was particularly high. But he said the “robust measures” put in place had helped.Have you experienced a long A&E wait? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSayUpload pictures or videoPlease read our terms & conditions and privacy policy

If you are reading this page and can’t see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. More on this storyA&E wait times hit 12 hours, hospital warnsPublished17 JanuaryPostcode check: How’s the NHS coping in your area?Published1 hour ago

Published39 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Science Photo LibraryBy Michelle RobertsDigital health editorEngland is now seeing clusters of measles cases across a number of regions including London, the North West, Yorkshire, The Humber and the East Midlands, as well as the West Midlands. There have been 166 cases in the last month, with 56 of those in the last week, latest figures reveal. Measles is highly contagious and is likely to keep spreading unless more people are vaccinated, experts warn. Symptoms include a rash and fever. The West Midlands accounted for about half of the 166 cases seen since 15 January, mostly in Birmingham. Case numbers in that region now appear to be stabilising. Elsewhere:12% (20/166) of cases have been in London10% (17/166) in the North West10% (16/166) in Yorkshire and The Humber 9% (15/166) in the East MidlandsIncident Room: Measles Outbreak: Why now?Watch now on iPlayerMany of the infections have been in children and young people. Measles is almost entirely preventable with vaccination using the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) jab.Dr Vanessa Saliba, from the UK Health Security Agency, said: “As expected, due to worryingly low MMR vaccine uptake in some areas across the country, we are now starting to see clusters of cases in other regions.”While parents are coming forward to take up the offer of the MMR vaccine for their children, there are still hundreds of thousands of children who remain unprotected, and therefore remain at risk of serious complications or lifelong disability.”I strongly urge parents to take up the offer of the MMR vaccine now to make sure their child is protected.”What is measles and what are the symptoms?Measles is caused by a virus that is spread by coughs and sneezes.Common symptoms include:high feversore, red and watery eyescoughingsneezingSmall white spots may appear inside the mouthA blotchy red or brown rash usually appears after a few days, typically on the face and behind the ears, before spreading to the rest of the body.It can be harder to see on brown and black skin. You can catch it any age if you have not been vaccinated. After both MMR vaccine doses, 99% of people are protected against measles and rubella, and 88% are protected against mumps.The first MMR dose is usually given at 12 months old, while the second jab is administered at about three years and four months.The number of young primary school children who have had both doses of the MMR vaccine is below World Health Organization targets.Approximately 85% of children in England in 2022-23 had received two MMR doses by their fifth birthday, the lowest level since 2010-11. The recommended figure is 95%.That means a few million children under the age of 16 have not had both doses and are potentially at risk.Measles normally clears up within seven to 10 days. However, complications can include pneumonia, meningitis, blindness and seizures. For some people, it is deadly. More on this storyWhy are measles cases rising and what is the MMR vaccine?Published23 January

Published2 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, PA MediaBy Brian Farmer and Eleanor BusbyBBC News and PA MediaChildren who wear school uniforms may be less physically active, a global study has suggested.Academics from Cambridge University say uniforms might be a “barrier” to activity, with primary-aged girls particularly affected.The researcher who led the study said schools should consider whether “specific characteristics” of a uniform restricted “opportunities”.They said the new evidence could support decision-making about uniforms.The team analysed data on the “physical activity levels” of more than a million youngsters aged five to 17 in 135 countries, including Britain.They combined the results with data on how common the use of school uniforms was in those countries.Events showcase university’s ‘incredible research’Religion may have helped during Covid – researchDoes your school uniform affect how well you learn?A university spokesman said the study found that in countries where a majority of schools required students to wear uniforms, fewer young people tended to meet the 60 minutes of physical activity per day recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).Researchers said results did not “definitively prove” that school uniforms limited children’s physical activity and “causation” could not be inferred.”Regardless of uniform policies, across most countries fewer girls than boys reach those recommended exercise levels,” the spokesman said.”Among primary school students, however, the difference in activity between girls and boys was found to be wider in countries where most schools mandated uniforms. “The same result was not found in secondary school-aged students.”‘New evidence’Authors suggested that younger children might get more “incidental exercise” throughout the school day than older students, through activities such as running climbing during breaks.”Schools often prefer to use uniforms for various reasons,” said Mairead Ryan, a researcher at Cambridge University’s Faculty of Education and Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit, who led the study.”We are not trying to suggest a blanket ban on them, but to present new evidence to support decision-making. “School communities could consider design, and whether specific characteristics of a uniform might either encourage or restrict any opportunities for physical activity across the day.”She said the study confirmed that most children and adolescents were not meeting WHO recommendations, especially girls.Researchers said there was already evidence that girls felt less comfortable in participating in active play if they were wearing certain types of clothing.”Girls might feel less confident about doing things like cartwheels and tumbles in the playground, or riding a bike on a windy day, if they are wearing a skirt or dress,” Esther van Sluijs, another member of the research team, said.”Social norms and expectations tend to influence what they feel they can do in these clothes,” Dr van Sluijs added.”Unfortunately, when it comes to promoting physical health, that’s a problem.”Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and X. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.ukor WhatsApp 0800 169 1830More on this storyParents feel pressure to buy school-logo uniformsPublished11 August 2023’Parents forgo holidays over school uniform costs’Published28 June 2023Does your school uniform affect how well you learn?Published28 March 2023Related Internet LinksUniversity of CambridgeWorld Health Organization (WHO)Medical Research Council (MRC) – UKRIThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

School uniform policies could be restricting young people from being active, particularly primary school-aged girls, new research suggests.
The University of Cambridge study used data about the physical activity participation of more than a million five-to-17-year-olds internationally. It found that in countries where a majority of schools require students to wear uniforms fewer young people tend to meet the 60 minutes of physical activity per day recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Regardless of uniform policies, across most countries fewer girls than boys reach those recommended exercise levels. Among primary school students, however, the difference in activity between girls and boys was found to be wider in countries where most schools mandated uniforms. The same result was not found in secondary school-aged students.
The authors suggest that this could be explained by the fact that younger children get more incidental exercise throughout the school day than older students; for example, through running, climbing and various other forms of active play at break and lunchtimes. There is already evidence that girls feel less comfortable in participating in active play if they are wearing certain types of clothing, such as skirts or dresses.
Importantly, the results do not definitively prove that school uniforms limit children’s physical activity and the researchers stress that “causation cannot be inferred.” Previous, smaller studies however provide support for these findings, indicating that uniforms could pose a barrier. For the first time, the research examines large-scale statistical evidence to assess that claim.
The study was led by Dr Mairead Ryan, a researcher at the Faculty of Education and MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge.
“Schools often prefer to use uniforms for various reasons,” Ryan said. “We are not trying to suggest a blanket ban on them, but to present new evidence to support decision-making. School communities could consider design, and whether specific characteristics of a uniform might either encourage or restrict any opportunities for physical activity across the day.”
The WHO recommends that young people get an average of 60 minutes of at least moderate-intensity physical activity per day during the week. The study confirms previous observations that most children and adolescents are not meeting this recommendation, especially girls. The difference in the percentage of boys and girls meeting physical activity guidelines across all countries was, on average, 7.6 percentage points.

Existing evidence suggests that uniforms could be a factor. Previous concerns have, for example, been raised about girls’ PE uniforms and school sports kits. A 2021 study in England found that the design of girls’ PE uniforms deterred students from participation in certain activities, while the hockey player Tess Howard proposed redesigning gendered sports uniforms for similar reasons, after analysing interview and survey data.
Children often get their exercise away from PE and sports lessons, however. “Activities like walking or cycling to school, breaktime games, and after-school outdoor play can all help young people incorporate physical activity into their daily routines,” Ryan said. “That’s why we are interested in the extent to which various elements of young people’s environments, including what they wear, encourage such behaviours.”
The study analysed existing data on the physical activity levels of nearly 1.1 million young people aged five to 17 in 135 countries and combined this with newly collected data on how common the use of school uniforms is in these countries.
In over 75% of the countries surveyed, a majority of schools required their students to wear uniforms. The study found that in these countries, physical activity participation was lower. The median proportion of all students meeting the WHO recommendations in countries where uniform-wearing was the norm was 16%; this rose to 19.5% in countries where uniforms were less common.
There was a consistent gender gap between boys’ and girls’ physical activity levels, with boys 1.5 times more likely to meet WHO recommendations across all ages. However, the gap widened from 5.5 percentage points at primary school level in non-uniform countries to a 9.8 percentage point difference in countries where uniforms were required in most schools.
The finding appears to match evidence from other studies suggesting that girls are more self-conscious about engaging in physical activity when wearing uniforms in which they do not feel comfortable. “Girls might feel less confident about doing things like cartwheels and tumbles in the playground, or riding a bike on a windy day, if they are wearing a skirt or dress,” said senior author Dr Esther van Sluijs, MRC Investigator. “Social norms and expectations tend to influence what they feel they can do in these clothes. Unfortunately, when it comes to promoting physical health, that’s a problem.”
The authors of the study argue that there is now enough evidence to warrant further investigation into whether there is a causal relationship between school uniforms and lower activity levels. They also highlight the importance of regular physical activity for all young people, regardless of their gender.

“Regular physical activity helps support multiple physical, mental, and well-being needs, as well as academic outcomes” Ryan said. “We now need more information to build on these findings, considering factors like how long students wear their uniforms for after school, whether this varies depending on their background, and how broader gendered clothing norms may impact their activity.”
The findings are reported in the Journal of Sport and Health Science.

A groundbreaking scientific study published in Nature Cardiovascular Research has unveiled a remarkable discovery that may have far-reaching implications for the treatment of heart disease.
The intensive investigations utilizing single-cell genomics and genetic experiments were conducted by a team of scientists in theCardiomyocyte Renewal Laboratory and McGill Gene Editing Laboratory at The Texas Heart Institute, including James F. Martin Vivian L. Smith Chair in Regenerative Medicine and Vice Chairman and Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at Baylor College of Medicine, and co-first authors Xiao Li, PhD, and Rich Gang Li, PhD. Titled “YAP Induces a Neonatal Like Pro-Renewal Niche in the Adult Heart,” this research sheds light on the potential of the human heart to achieve self-repair and regeneration.
Heart disease remains a leading cause of death worldwide, with myocardial infarction, also known as a heart attack, causing irreparable damage to cardiac muscle cells. While current treatments focus on alleviating symptoms and improving blood flow, they fall short in addressing the crucial issue of lost cardiomyocytes (CMs), leading to further complications such as heart failure. However, this groundbreaking study offers hope for a paradigm shift in regenerative medicine.
Heart disease remains a leading cause of death worldwide, with myocardial infarction, also known as a heart attack, causing irreparable damage to cardiac muscle cells. While current treatments focus on alleviating symptoms and improving blood flow, they fall short of addressing the crucial issue of lost cardiomyocytes (CMs), leading to further complications such as heart failure. However, this groundbreaking study offers hope for a paradigm shift in regenerative medicine.
Contrary to longstanding beliefs, the study reveals that regeneration of CMs requires a complex microenvironment, where a dynamic synergy between CMs, resident immune cells, and cardiac fibroblasts is the driving force behind cardiac renewal. Through intricate signaling mechanisms, these cell types coordinately instruct and support each other, facilitating CM proliferation and effectively repairing damaged heart tissue.
“Understanding heart regeneration on a molecular level is an important step towards developing innovative therapeutics that can facilitate CM regeneration,” said the team in their lay summary. “Our study challenges the existing paradigm, suggesting that targeting the microenvironment rather than a specific cell type is instrumental in healing the injured heart.”
The implications of this groundbreaking discovery are immense, offering glimpses of a future where heart disease may no longer be an irreversible condition but a challenge that can be overcome through medical intervention. The potential for developing novel therapies that leverage the body’s innate regenerative capacity holds great promise for millions of individuals affected by heart disease worldwide.
The work is supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL127717, HL130804, and HL118761 to JFM), the American Heart Association (AHA) (849706 to SL, 903651 to RGL, and 903411 to FM), the Don McGill Gene Editing Laboratory of The Texas Heart Institute (XL), and the Vivian L. Smith Foundation (JFM)

People who have had the herpes virus at some point in their lives are twice as likely to develop dementia compared to those who have never been infected. A new study from Uppsala University confirms previous research on whether herpes can be a possible risk factor for dementia.
The researchers studied 1,000 70-year-olds from Uppsala over a period of 15 years. The study, now published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, found that people who had been infected with the herpes simplex virus at some point in their lives were twice as likely to develop dementia, compared to those who had never been infected. The herpes simplex virus is very common and up to 80 percent of Swedish adults may be infected. The infection is lifelong, but the symptoms can come and go over different periods of life. Many people never get any symptoms linked to their infection.
“What’s special about this particular study is that the participants are roughly the same age, which makes the results even more reliable since age differences, which are otherwise linked to the development of dementia, cannot confuse the results,” explains Erika Vestin, a medical student at Uppsala University.
55 million people worldwide are affected by dementia. Advanced age and carrying the apolipoprotein ε4 risk gene are already known risk factors. Research has previously been conducted to investigate whether the herpes simplex virus could also be a possible risk factor for dementia; something now confirmed in this study. “It is exciting that the results confirm previous studies. More and more evidence is emerging from studies that, like our findings, point to the herpes simplex virus as a risk factor for dementia,” continues Vestin.
Important conclusions from the study include the need to further investigate whether already known drugs against the herpes simplex virus can reduce the risk of dementia and the possibility of developing new vaccines. “The results may drive dementia research further towards treating the illness at an early stage using common anti-herpes virus drugs, or preventing the disease before it occurs,” adds Vestin.