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Linard M, Bezin J, Hucteau E, et al. Antiherpetic drugs: a potential way to prevent Alzheimer's disease?. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2022;14(1):3doi: 10.1186/s13195-021-00950-0.
Linard, M., Bezin, J., Hucteau, E., Joly, P., Garrigue, I., Dartigues, J. F., Pariente, A., & Helmer, C. (2022). Antiherpetic drugs: a potential way to prevent Alzheimer's disease?. Alzheimer's research & therapy, 14(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-021-00950-0
Linard, Morgane, et al. "Antiherpetic drugs: a potential way to prevent Alzheimer's disease?." Alzheimer's research & therapy vol. 14,1 (2022): 3. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-021-00950-0
Linard M, Bezin J, Hucteau E, Joly P, Garrigue I, Dartigues JF, Pariente A, Helmer C. Antiherpetic drugs: a potential way to prevent Alzheimer's disease?. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2022 Jan 07;14(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s13195-021-00950-0. PMID: 34996520; PMCID: PMC8742322.
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Alzheimers Res Ther. 2022 Jan 07;14(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s13195-021-00950-0.

Antiherpetic drugs: a potential way to prevent Alzheimer's disease?.

Alzheimer's research & therapy

Morgane Linard, Julien Bezin, Emilie Hucteau, Pierre Joly, Isabelle Garrigue, Jean-François Dartigues, Antoine Pariente, Catherine Helmer

Affiliations

  1. University of Bordeaux, Inserm, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, UMR U1219, F-33000, Bordeaux, France. [email protected].
  2. University of Bordeaux, Inserm, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, UMR U1219, F-33000, Bordeaux, France.
  3. Pharmacology Department, Bordeaux University Hospital, F-33076, Bordeaux, France.
  4. Virology Department, Bordeaux University Hospital and University of Bordeaux, CNRS-UMR 5234, F-33000, Bordeaux, France.
  5. Memory Consultation, CMRR, Bordeaux University Hospital, F-33076, Bordeaux, France.

PMID: 34996520 PMCID: PMC8742322 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-021-00950-0

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Considering the growing body of evidence suggesting a potential implication of herpesviruses in the development of dementia, several authors have questioned a protective effect of antiherpetic drugs (AHDs) which may represent a new means of prevention, well tolerated and easily accessible. Subsequently, several epidemiological studies have shown a reduction in the risk of dementia in subjects treated with AHDs, but the biological plausibility of this association and the impact of potential methodological biases need to be discussed in more depth.

METHODS: Using a French medico-administrative database, we assessed the association between the intake of systemic AHDs and the incidence of (i) dementia, (ii) Alzheimer's disease (AD), and (iii) vascular dementia in 68,291 subjects over 65 who were followed between 2009 and 2017. Regarding potential methodological biases, Cox models were adjusted for numerous potential confounding factors (including proxies of sociodemographic status, comorbidities, and use of healthcare) and sensitivity analyses were performed in an attempt to limit the risk of indication and reverse causality biases.

RESULTS: 9.7% of subjects (n=6642) had at least one intake of systemic AHD, and 8883 incident cases of dementia were identified. Intake of at least one systemic AHD during follow-up was significantly associated with a decreased risk of AD (aHR 0.85 95% confidence interval [0.75-0.96], p=0.009) and, to a lesser extent with respect to p values, to both dementia from any cause and vascular dementia. The association with AD remained significant in sensitivity analyses. The number of subjects with a regular intake was low and prevented us from studying its association with dementia.

CONCLUSIONS: Taking at least one systemic AHD during follow-up was significantly associated with a 15% reduced risk of developing AD, even after taking into account several potential methodological biases. Nevertheless, the low frequency of subjects with a regular intake questions the biological plausibility of this association and highlights the limits of epidemiological data to evaluate a potential protective effect of a regular treatment by systemic AHDs on the incidence of dementia.

© 2022. The Author(s).

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Antiherpetic drugs; Antimicrobial; Dementia; Herpesvirus; Infection; Medico-administrative databases; Prevention; Treatment; Vascular dementia

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