January 15, 2021
Parkinson’s Disease and latent (hidden viruses) study: The cause of most Parkinson’s disease cases is unknown. However, it is well documented that mitochondrial dysfunction and misfolded α synuclein aggregation are important cellular abnormalities associated with the disease.
In this paper, we use the microcompetition model to show how latent viruses, which infect the central and peripheral nervous systems, can cause the observed mitochondrial dysfunction and excess α synuclein aggregation, and eventually, Parkinson’s disease. View study here published in the Journal of NeuroVirology.
The discovery was made possible by using the microcompetition model. The model uncovered new relationships between seemingly unrelated observations reported in the scientific literature. The discovery describes the molecular steps that lead from a latent infection to the clinical symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Many common viruses can cause the disease. They include the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV-1), and Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV).
The model shows that an increase in the concentration of these viruses, or copy number, during the latent phase, increases the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. What can increase this viral copy number? A damaged immune system. Events that decrease the efficiency of the immune system include aging, certain medications, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, stress, and more.
The microcompetition model was used to discover the effects of latent viruses on other diseases too. It was used to show how latent viruses can cause breast cancer (2), and other cancers (3). The model was created by Hanan Polansky, and was introduced in his book: “Microcompetition with Foreign DNA and the Origin of Chronic Disease.”
For jobs in medicine click here.
References
(1) Polansky H, Lori G. How microcompetition with latent viruses can cause α synuclein aggregation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and eventually Parkinson’s disease. J Neurovirol. 2021 Jan 6. doi: 10.1007/s13365-020-00929-x
(2) Polansky H, Schwab H. How latent viruses cause breast cancer: An explanation based on the microcompetition model. Bosn J Basic Med Sci. 2019 Aug 20;19(3):221-226. doi: 10.17305/bjbms.2018.3950.
(3) Polansky H, Schwab H. Copy number of latent viruses, oncogenicity, and the microcompetition model. Oncotarget. 2018 Aug 3;9(60):31568-31569. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.25804. eCollection 2018 Aug 3.
