NINDS investigators found that children with febrile seizures have elevated inflammatory cytokines compared to healthy controls and children with fever. One of those cytokines, Il-1β, correlated with HHV-6 saliva viral load.
Gene-expression network analysis points to HHV-6A as a key driver in upregulating genes leading to Alzheimer’s disease progression
Investigators at Mt Sinai used “big data” models to determine that the genes involved with fighting Alzheimer’s are the same ones that fight virus. They found HHV-6A and HHV-7 to be more abundant in Alzheimer’s brains, and singled out HHV6-A as a key modulator of the genes involved in amyloidosis and neuronal death.
HHV-6 and HSV1 dramatically accelerate amyloid plaque production in Alzheimer’s model
Researchers at Harvard studied how neurons responded to the presence of herpesviruses HSV1 and HHV-6, and found that they rapidly induce amyloid plaque production within 24 to 48 hours.
Dense infection of the hippocampus in primary HHV-6B encephalitis
The autopsy of an infant with HHV-6B encephalitis showed a 4-5 fold increase in the viral load of the hippocampus compared to other parts of the brain. Neurons, oligodendrocytes and vascular endothelial cells were infected, but not astrocytes or microglia.
New study details devastating impact of HHV-6 encephalitis
Investigators in Japan studied 145 patients who developed HHV-6 encephalitis. At 100 days after transplantation, the overall survival rate was just 58.3%, compared with 80.5% for patients who did not develop encephalitis. High-dose antiviral therapy was shown to mitigate high mortality rates in these patients.
Latent HHV-6A may impair myelin repair in multiple sclerosis
A group at University of Rochester demonstrated that the HHV-6A latency gene, U94, inhibits migration of cells involved in myelin repair. Inefficient myelin repair is associated with progression MS, and the ability of HHV-6A to impede this process suggests that it could be involved in the progression of MS, and raises questions about the virus’s role in other chronic demyelinating diseases.
Low sodium levels associated with HHV-6 encephalitis
Retrospective analysis of transplant patients revealed that low serum sodium levels are associated with HHV-6 encephalitis, but not HHV-6 myelitis. Low sodium is a possible marker for HHV-6 encephalitis post-transplantation.
Antibodies to herpesvirus dUTPase a potential biomarker for Gulf War Illness and CFS
Antibodies to HHV-6 and VZV dUTPases were significantly elevated in Gulf War Illness patients compared to controls, and EBV dUTPase antibodies were elevated in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients.
HHV-6B induces telomeric hypomethylation, possibly facilitating integration
HHV-6B induces unique, region-specific DNA hypomethylation, and findings suggest that the epigenetic modification may facilitate HHV-6B integration.
Decreased HHV-6 IgG in Alzheimer’s
Investigators from Uppsala University in Sweden found that HHV-6 IgG reactivity was significantly lower in Alzheimer’s Disease patients compared to controls. The authors suggest reduced immunity may be one reason why past studies have found increased levels of HHV-6 DNA in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients compared to controls.
New evidence linking HHV-6A U24 protein to MS
HHV-6 has been linked in numerous studies to multiple sclerosis. Now, investigators at the University of British Columbia have published new data suggesting that HHV-6A may be a key player in the development of multiple sclerosis. The investigators propose that the viral protein U24 may dysregulate myelination.
HHV-6 identified in 12% of simple and 42% of complex pediatric febrile seizures
Australian investigators studied 143 young children with febrile seizures for signs of viral infection and found that HHV-6 was the fifth most common virus after rhinovirus (22%), enterovirus (20%), adenovirus (21%) and influenza (13%). Overall, a virus was found in 71% of cases. Virus found in complex seizures was associated with HHV-6 (42%) or influenza (41%).
Rapid point-of-care system screens for 14 encephalitis pathogens in one hour!
A new point-of-care assay from bioMérieux can simultaneously and rapidly detect 14 pathogens typically found in encephalitis. The machine is designed to be at the clinic or in the emergency room and can be operated by unskilled technicians. In a study of 1,560 immunocompetent patient samples, a total of 1.35% were positive for HHV-6, or about twice the expected rate of 0.8% found with the inherited chromosomally integrated HHV-6.
HHV-6 found to cause 35% of CNS infections in allo-HSCT transplantation
A retrospective analysis out of the Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Diseases Center reviewed 353 consecutive adult allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) cases and identified 17 cases of CNS infection post-transplant. As determined by PCR on cerebrospinal fluid, HHV-6 was found to be the causative agent in 6 cases, or 1.7% of all transplants.
HHV-7 homolog found in the peripheral nerve ganglia of macaques
Virologists led by Serge Barcy, PhD at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute and University of Washington have identified a homolog for HHV-7 in pigtail macaques They were surprised to learn that it could be detected in the peripheral nerve ganglia, and hope to use their new animal model to explore how HHV-7 might play a role in demyelinating diseases.
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