Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Alzheimer's Disease, and Infections
Herpes Viruses and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Dr. Henderson of Neuro-Luminance Brain Health Centers, Inc. is exploring the link between another pair of Herpes viruses and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Human Herpes Virus 6 (HHV6) have been implicated in causing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Using a treatment regimen of antiviral medication and natural remedies, Dr. Henderson is treating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which has been commonly considered an untreatable disease.
Furthermore, Dr. Henderson has discovered the role of viruses in other illnesses including seizure disorders, depression, anxiety, and Parkinson’s disease. In support, fascinating work around the world is beginning to show that Parkinson’s disease starts as an infection in the intestines and spreads to the brain.
This SPECT scan of a patient with a viral infection reveals markedly cortical hypoperfusion throughout the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes. Various views of the brain are illustrated using a color scale wherein normal perfusion falls in the range of yellow, a decrease in perfusion of two standard deviations below the mean is shown in green and three below standard deviation is shown in blue.
If we begin to treat diseases (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease) as viral or infectious illnesses, we can make incredible changes and offer new-found hope to patients. We may potentially be able to develop a vaccine for diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis. Already today, we can certainly treat those with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, rather than subjecting those who suffer with it to a lifetime of exhaustion.
Imaging is one of many advanced solutions and cutting-edge techniques we utilize at Neuro-Luminance Brain Health Centers to provide personalized substance abuse, toxic exposure, and infection treatment.
Whether you’ve yet to begin your treatment journey or have found yourself discouraged after failed treatment attempts, we welcome the opportunity to discuss our progressive options with you and develop a unique treatment plan that is best-suited for you.
We are on the verge of one of the most important breakthroughs in medicine today. Neurological disorders that have plagued us for decades—including Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Schizophrenia—are proving to have infectious causes.
Herpes Simplex 1 Virus (HSV1) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
The connection HSV1 and AD has been worked out in great detail by Dr. Ruth Itzhaki and her team. First, In 1997, Itzhaki’s team showed that patients who have the risk factor gene for AD (the APOE4 gene) are almost seventeen times more likely to have HSV1 viral DNA in their brains.
Second, Itzhaki’s group showed that cultured neuronal cells will produce excess amyloid protein when they are infected with HSV1. Recall, amyloid is an abnormal protein that accumulates in AD. Third, they showed that laboratory mice infected with HSV1, had a similar excessive increase in amyloid protein occur in their brain.
With all of this evidence from pathological studies, cell culture studies, and animal studies, you would think medical science would be convinced. But they were not.
Quite recently, Itzhaki, Mee, and Wozniak found the most definitive evidence to date. Using sophisticated methods to localize tiny bits of DNA in intact tissue samples, they went looking for the DNA of HSV1 in slices of brain from persons who had died of AD, as well as from elderly persons who had died of other causes. In the brains of patients with AD, the DNA of HSV1 was localized inside the amyloid plaques. In fact, 90 percent of the plaques examined contained HSV1 DNA.
Although Itzhaki published this data in 2009, the medical community largely dismissed her findings until 2018 as a result of epidemiological studies published in Taiwan (Tseng et al, Tsai et al). These studies show that people who are HSV1-positive are almost three times more likely to develop dementia. Furthermore, being treated with an antiviral medication reduces this risk by more than 50 percent.
