Can herpes viruses cause depression?

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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Herpes viruses nestle in the body for life. If the immune system weakens, the infection flares up again. What is new is the knowledge that the pathogens also establish themselves in the brain. And there is evidence that they cause mental illnesses like depression there.

"Viruses can disrupt the development of nerve cells and hinder the interaction with the immune system in important stages of development," explains Dr. Bhupesh Prusty from the University of Würzburg. Therefore, if such an infection occurs in early adolescence, it could have long-term psychological effects.

Active viruses in the brain

The scientist and his colleagues had examined two large collections of human brain biopsies from the Stanley Medical Research Institute (USA). They actually found what they were looking for: "We found an increased rate of active infections with human herpes viruses in patients with bipolar and severe depressive disorders," summarizes Prusty.

The viruses belonged to type HHV-6, which causes what is known as three-day fever in infants and young children. The "Purkinje cells" that are located in the human cerebellum were primarily affected. This brain area is primarily responsible for motor learning and the fine control of muscle tension and movements. But it also influences feelings, perception, memory and language.

Genes and the environment influence the psyche

It has long been known that not only hereditary factors increase the risk of severe psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder, severe depression and schizophrenia. Formative experiences and various environmental influences also play a role. This applies above all to factors that cause inflammation in the nervous system at a young age, says Prusty.

In a next step, Prusty and colleagues want to decipher the molecular mechanism by which the herpes viruses change Purkinje neurons.

It was only in July of this year that another research group found indications that herpes viruses of the type HHV-6A and HHV-7 could be involved in the development of Alzheimer's. They favor the Alzheimer's typical deposits of amyloid beta.

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