SynthesisAlzheimer's research & therapy2025
Herpesviruses, antiviral treatment, and the risk of dementia - systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Herpes simplex virus 2 and dementia risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in dementia · 2026Pooled it
- Herpes zoster as a vaccine-preventable risk factor increases the risk of dementia: A nested case-control study in Chinese population.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2026Article
- Anti-RSV drug screening and inhibition of RSV infection by lapatinib through the IL-17 pathway.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2026Article
- Challenge-based ex vivo immune profiling reveals stimulus-dependent peripheral immune reprogramming in Alzheimer's disease.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026Article
- Cytomegalovirus and Aging-How Can the Field Move Forward?The Journal of infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Unmasking the hidden catalyst: How infections trigger Alzheimer's disease.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026Review
- Could targeting viruses be a new hope against neurodegenerative diseases?PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Beyond the amyloid hypothesis: leveraging human-centered complexFrontiers in toxicology · 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
introductionThe aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to synthesize the evidence on the association between herpesviruses, antiviral treatment, and the risk of dementia. We also aimed to explore the impact of time between herpesviruses and dementia on the reported associations.
methodsPubMed and Web of Science were searched along with reference lists of the included studies. We included studies that looked at clinical episodes or serology (IgG/IgM) of herpes simplex virus type 1/2 (HSV1/2) and/or varicella zoster virus (VZV), antiviral treatment and incident dementia (all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia). Study results were pooled with random effect meta-analyses.
resultsWe included 32 studies. The pooled hazard ratio for all-cause dementia was 1.36 [95% CI: 1.01, 1.83] following a clinical episode of HSV1/2, and 1.12 [95% CI: 1.00, 1.25] following a clinical episode of VZV. The pooled estimate for all-cause dementia following antiviral treatment and VZV was 0.88 [95% CI: 0.81, 0.96].
conclusionsThe present review of the scientific literature generally shows little evidence of an association between herpesviruses and risk of dementia. However, the review shows evidence of an association between antiviral treatment and a decreased risk of dementia. Because of considerable heterogeneity, future investigations could advantageously target certain subgroups.
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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.