ArticleBMJ open2025
Association between herpes simplex virus type 1 and the risk of Alzheimer's disease: a retrospective case-control study.
Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Herpes simplex virus 2 and dementia risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in dementia · 2026Pooled it
- Herpesviruses, antiviral treatment, and the risk of dementia - systematic review and meta-analysis.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2025Pooled it
- Herpes simplex virus pUL56 abolishes neuronal activity by removing voltage-gated ion channels from the plasma membrane.Science advances · 2026Article
- Association of Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1 With Dementia Outcomes: Longitudinal Retrospective Cohort Study Using Real-World Electronic Health Record Data.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- HSV-1 reactivation as an emergent property of neuronal stress: implications for traumatic brain injury.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Review
- Recent Insights into the Role of Herpesviridae in Alzheimer's Disease: A Structured Narrative Review Based on a Systematic Literature Search.Neurology international · 2026Review
- Article
- Unmasking the hidden catalyst: How infections trigger Alzheimer's disease.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026Review
- Optimization of lytic herpes simplex virus infection in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cortical neurones.The Journal of general virology · 2026Article
- Impact of HSV-1 Infection on Alzheimer's Disease Neurodegeneration Markers: Insights from LUHMES 2D and 3D Neuronal Models.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- From infection to dysfunction: viral triggers and antiviral immune factors in Alzheimer's disease pathology.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Herpes simplex virus infection and Alzheimer's disease.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Review
- Exploring the role of infectious pathogens in Alzheimer's disease neuroinflammation.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- Modulation of the immunological and neuroinflammatory microenvironment in older people with multiple sclerosis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Sequelae of viral CNS infections including outcomes, mechanisms, and knowledge gaps.Npj viruses · 2025Review
- HSV-1 as a Potential Driver of Alzheimer's Disease.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveA growing body of evidence points to a role for herpesviruses in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and a reduced risk of AD among patients receiving antiherpetic medications. We investigated the association between herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and AD using real-world data (RWD) from USA.
designIn a matched case-control study, patients with AD aged ≥50 years diagnosed between 2006 and 2021 were identified from the IQVIA PharMetrics Plus claims database. Controls were matched in a 1:1 ratio with subjects with AD on age, sex, region, database entry year and healthcare visit numbers.
resultsThe study included 344 628 AD case-control pairs. History of HSV-1 diagnosis was present in 1507 (0.44%) patients with AD compared with 823 (0.24%) controls. HSV-1 diagnosis was found to be associated with AD (adjusted OR 1.80; 95% CI 1.65 to 1.96). Patients with HSV-1 who used antiherpetics were less likely to develop AD compared with those who did not use antiherpetics (adjusted HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.74 to 0.92).
conclusionsFindings from this large RWD study implicate HSV-1 in the development of AD and highlight antiherpetic therapies as potentially protective for AD and related dementia.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.