ArticleAlzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.)2022
VALZ-Pilot: High-dose valacyclovir treatment in patients with early-stage Alzheimer's disease.
Article in Alzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Microglia-Astrocyte Cooperation and Peripheral T Cells in Alzheimer's Disease: State-of-the-Art and Treatment Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- A high-throughput, quantitative platform using 2D dissociated human cerebral organoids to model neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease.NPJ dementia · 2026Article
- Research Progress on the Pathogenesis, Therapeutic Strategies, and Phthalocyanine Compounds for Alzheimer's Disease.Current Alzheimer research · 2026Review
- Review
- Immune modulation to treat Alzheimer's disease.Molecular neurodegeneration · 2025Review
- Advancements in Immunity and Dementia Research: Highlights from the 2023 AAIC Advancements: Immunity Conference.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Review
- Infectious Disease as a Modifiable Risk Factor for Dementia: A Narrative Review.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Do microbes play a role in Alzheimer's disease?Microbial biotechnology · 2024Article
- Anti-viral Effects ofEndocrine, metabolic & immune disorders drug targets · 2024Article
- MAD-microbial (origin of) Alzheimer's disease hypothesis: from infection and the antimicrobial response to disruption of key copper-based systems.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Review
- Establishment of a consensus protocol to explore the brain pathobiome in patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: Research outline and call for collaboration.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2023Review
- RORB, an Alzheimer's disease susceptibility gene, is associated with viral encephalitis, an Alzheimer's disease risk factor.Clinical neurology and neurosurgery · 2023Article
- Review
- The elusive role of herpesviruses in Alzheimer's disease: current evidence and future directions.NeuroImmune pharmacology and therapeutics · 2023Review
- TREM2 is down-regulated by HSV1 in microglia and involved in antiviral defense in the brain.Science advances · 2023Article
- Seropositivity and reactivations of HSV-1, but not of HSV-2 nor VZV, associate with altered blood-brain barrier, beta amyloid, and tau proteins in people living with HIV.Journal of neurovirology · 2023Article
- Viruses in neurodegenerative diseases: More than just suspects in crimes.PLoS pathogens · 2022Review
- VALZ-Pilot: High-dose valacyclovir treatment in patients with early-stage Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) may be involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathophysiology. The antiviral valacyclovir inhibits HSV replication. Methods: This phase-II pilot trial involved valacyclovir administration (thrice daily, 500 mg week 1, 1000 mg weeks 2-4) to persons aged ≥ 65 years with early-stage AD, anti-HSV immunoglobulin G, and apolipoprotein E ε4. Intervention safety, tolerability, feasibility, and effects on Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers were evaluated. Results: Thirty-two of 33 subjects completed the trial on full dosage. Eighteen percent experienced likely intervention-related mild, temporary adverse events. CSF acyclovir concentrations were mean 5.29 ± 2.31 μmol/L. CSF total tau and neurofilament light concentrations were unchanged; MMSE score and CSF soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 concentrations increased ( Discussion: Four weeks of high-dose valacyclovir treatment was safe, tolerable, and feasible in early-stage AD. Our findings may guide future trial design.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.