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Comment
. 2020;78(3):905-906.
doi: 10.3233/JAD-200986.

Antivirals Against SARS-CoV2: Relevance to the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

Ruth F Itzhaki  1
Affiliations
Comment

Antivirals Against SARS-CoV2: Relevance to the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

Ruth F Itzhaki. J Alzheimers Dis. 2020.

Abstract

A recent study in vitro has shown that a sulphated polysaccharide, a type of fucoidan, has potent antiviral activity against SARS-Cov2. If the antiviral action were successful also for COVID-19 patients, it would be enormously valuable against not only acute disease but also long-term mental effects, which might include Alzheimer's disease (AD). In a trial of AD patients, the apparent success of treatment with a polysaccharide, GV971, was suggested to result from antiviral action against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) in brain, a pathogen strongly implicated in AD, and that sulphation of GV971, making it fucoidan-like, might increase its putative antiviral action. These data indicate that treatment of AD patients might be very effective using valacyclovir, a conventional antiviral, which inhibits viral replication, together with a fucoidan, which blocks virus entry into cells.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; COVID-19; Herpes simplex virus type 1; SARS-Cov2; antiviral; fucoidans.

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