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. 2018 Apr;15(2):417-429.
doi: 10.1007/s13311-018-0611-x.

Anti-herpetic Medications and Reduced Risk of Dementia in Patients with Herpes Simplex Virus Infections-a Nationwide, Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan

Nian-Sheng Tzeng  1   2 , Chi-Hsiang Chung  3   4   5 , Fu-Huang Lin  4 , Chien-Ping Chiang  6 , Chin-Bin Yeh  1   7 , San-Yuan Huang  1   7 , Ru-Band Lu  1   8   9   10   11   12 , Hsin-An Chang  1   2 , Yu-Chen Kao  1   13 , Hui-Wen Yeh  1 , Wei-Shan Chiang  1   14 , Yu-Ching Chou  4 , Chang-Huei Tsao  5 , Yung-Fu Wu  5 , Wu-Chien Chien  15   16
Affiliations

Anti-herpetic Medications and Reduced Risk of Dementia in Patients with Herpes Simplex Virus Infections-a Nationwide, Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan

Nian-Sheng Tzeng et al. Neurotherapeutics. 2018 Apr.

Abstract

This retrospective cohort study is to investigate the association between herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections and dementia, and the effects of anti-herpetic medications on the risk involved, using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). We enrolled a total of 33,448 subjects, and identified 8362 with newly diagnosed HSV infections and 25,086 randomly selected sex- and age-matched controls without HSV infections in a ratio of 1:3, selected from January 1, to December 31, 2000. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to evaluate the risk of developing dementia in the HSV cohort. This analysis revealed an adjusted hazard ratio of 2.564 (95% CI: 2.351-2.795, P < 0.001) for the development of dementia in the HSV-infected cohort relative to the non-HSV cohort. Thus, patients with HSV infections may have a 2.56-fold increased risk of developing dementia. A risk reduction of dementia development in patients affected by HSV infections was found upon treatment with anti-herpetic medications (adjusted HR = 0.092 [95% CI 0.079-0.108], P < 0.001). The usage of anti-herpetic medications in the treatment of HSV infections was associated with a decreased risk of dementia. These findings could be a signal to clinicians caring for patients with HSV infections. Further research is, therefore, necessary to explore the underlying mechanism(s) of these associations.

Keywords: Anti-herpetic medications; Cohort study; Dementia; Herpes simplex virus; National Health Insurance Research Database.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Cumulative risk of dementia among subjects aged 50 and over stratified by HSV infections among three groups of controls, HSV infection with anti-herpetic treatment and HSV infection without anti-herpetic treatment in the same plot with log-rank test
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Cumulative risk of dementia among HSV-infected patients aged 50 and over stratified by anti-herpetic medication use with log-rank test
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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