While HHV-6B is well known to cause limbic encephalitis in transplant patients, it does not appear to play a role in other forms of limbic encephalitis.
A review of evidence linking HHV-6A/B to neurological diseases: association or causation?
A thorough review examines the possible role of HHV-6A/B in febrile seizures, mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease, proposing evidence to distinguish association from causation.
Substantial reduction in hippocampal volume found in pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients with HHV-6B reactivation
Surprisingly, the damage from HHV-6B infection often occurred in the absence of obvious neurological symptoms. Patients without HHV-6 reactivation had no reduction in volume.
Study of fresh brain tissue confirms a role for HHV-6 in mesial temporal sclerosis
NINDS investigators studied fresh resected brain tissue and found 29 of 54 positive for HHV-6 DNA. Previous studies using formalin fixed and paraffin embedded samples have yielded much lower rates of positivity.
HHV6A/B as a clinical marker of multiple sclerosis relapse during the postpartum period
HHV-6 IgM antibodies were higher in pregnant MS patients than in healthy controls. Women with elevated HHV-6 IgM titers were more likely to relapse postpartum.
A clinically significant viral load of HHV6 DNA was found in children with febrile seizures
HHV-6 most common virus found in nasopharyngeal aspirates from young children with febrile seizures, followed by influenza and adenovirus.
HHV-6 found in spinal fluid of an immunocompetent patient with possible temporal lobe epilepsy and post-ictal psychosis
A case report suggests possibility that HHV-6 encephalitis may be cause a temporal lobe epilepsy-like episode with associated psychosis
Lifestyle factors interact with HHV-6A in the development of multiple sclerosis
Smoking, low ultraviolet radiation exposure, and low vitamin D levels interact with HHV-6A to increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis
Relationships between malignant pleomorphic adenoma and herpesviruses
HHV-6B and HHV-7 DNA found in malignant tumors that derive from common salivary gland adenomas
Alcoholism and HHV-6B infection may interact to produce microglial activation, migration in the substantia nigra
Possible synergy between chronic alcohol use and HHV-6B infection of substantia nigra in producing microglial activation
Telomeric integration, excision and subsequent and transmission in people with inherited chromosomally integrated HHV-6B (iciHHV-6B)
Exploiting a hypervariable region of the HHV-6B genome, investigators achieve new insights about integration, excision, and genomic stability of iciHHV-6B
Significantly worse outcomes in critically ill hematology patients associated with HHV-6 infection.
Two reports associate detectable HHV-6 DNA in body fluids with increased risk of mortality in patients being treated for hematologic malignancies.
HHV-6 is the predominant reactivated virus, other than CMV, in post-transplant cyclophosphamide associated infections
Large, retrospective multi-institutional study of non-CMV herpesvirus infection in the HCT with cyclophosphamide prophylaxis finds higher rate of HHV-6 infection and associated higher mortality
Failure to detect iciHHV-6 leads to overtreatment in hematopoietic cell transplant recipients
Mistaking iciHHV-6 for a marked reactivation of naturally-acquired infection can lead to unnecessary diagnostic procedures and treatments, with adverse effects.
Human Herpesviruses-6A/6B linked to important reproductive diseases
A recent review from the Departments of Medicine and Obstetrics/Gynecology at Harvard Medical School and the University of Ferrara, Italy, summarizes evidence linking HHV6-A/B to several important reproductive diseases: primary unexplained infertility, preeclampsia, congenital infection and, possibly, spontaneous abortion and intrauterine growth restriction.