Viro Perspectives
Learn more on the topic of Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) via our ongoing series of clinical posts by David Kilpatrick, PhD and Abbas Vafai, PhD.
INTRODUCTION: It is well known that varicella zoster virus (VZV) infects and becomes latent in neurons in ganglia of the cranial nerves and dorsal roots and upon reactivation leads to zoster (shingles). However, there are also ganglia associated with the enteric nervous system (ENS). Reactivation of VZV within the ENS can infect gastrointestinal (GI) targets […]
INTRODUCTION: The association of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with herpesvirus infections has been suggested, but the relationship has not been experimentally proven. The study in this report used a two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis to investigate the association of four active herpesvirus infections with AD using summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS)). The four herpesvirus infections […]
INTRODUCTION: Reactivation of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) after a primary infection (chickenpox) leads to herpes zoster (HZ-shingles). This short report is the conclusion of three part series, based on the article by Kennedy et al.1 The possible role which autophagy plays in viral latency will be discussed. DISCUSSION: Autophagy is a mechanism which host cells use […]