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Review

Human Herpesviruses 6A and 6B in Brain Diseases: Association versus Causation

Anthony L. Komaroff, Philip E. Pellett, Steven Jacobson
Anthony L. Komaroff
aDepartment of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Philip E. Pellett
bDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA
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Steven Jacobson
cVirology/Immunology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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DOI: 10.1128/CMR.00143-20
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SUMMARY

Human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B), collectively termed HHV-6A/B, are neurotropic viruses that permanently infect most humans from an early age. Although most people infected with these viruses appear to suffer no ill effects, the viruses are a well-established cause of encephalitis in immunocompromised patients. In this review, we summarize the evidence that the viruses may also be one trigger for febrile seizures (including febrile status epilepticus) in immunocompetent infants and children, mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, multiple sclerosis (MS), and, possibly, Alzheimer’s disease. We propose criteria for linking ubiquitous infectious agents capable of producing lifelong infection to any neurologic disease, and then we examine to what extent these criteria have been met for these viruses and these diseases.

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Human Herpesviruses 6A and 6B in Brain Diseases: Association versus Causation
Anthony L. Komaroff, Philip E. Pellett, Steven Jacobson
Clinical Microbiology Reviews Nov 2020, 34 (1) e00143-20; DOI: 10.1128/CMR.00143-20

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Human Herpesviruses 6A and 6B in Brain Diseases: Association versus Causation
Anthony L. Komaroff, Philip E. Pellett, Steven Jacobson
Clinical Microbiology Reviews Nov 2020, 34 (1) e00143-20; DOI: 10.1128/CMR.00143-20
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  • Article
    • SUMMARY
    • INTRODUCTION
    • BIOLOGY OF HHV-6A/B
    • EVIDENCE REQUIRED TO LINK HHV-6A/B WITH A DISEASE
    • HHV-6A/B IN FEBRILE SEIZURES AND FEBRILE STATUS EPILEPTICUS
    • HHV-6A/B IN MESIAL TEMPORAL LOBE EPILEPSY
    • HHV-6A/B IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
    • HHV-6A/B IN ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
    • CONCLUDING REMARKS
    • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    • REFERENCES
    • Author Bios
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KEYWORDS

Alzheimer's disease
febrile seizures
febrile status epilepticus
mesial temporal lobe epilepsy
Multiple Sclerosis
human herpesvirus 6A
human herpesvirus 6B

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