Overview

• The first clinical trial of an antiviral targeting herpes in early Alzheimer’s enrolled 120 participants with biomarker-confirmed mild cognitive impairment or early-stage disease.
• All subjects had antibodies to herpes simplex viruses and were randomly assigned to daily valacyclovir or placebo with regular memory assessments and brain imaging for amyloid and tau.
• After 18 months, the valacyclovir group showed no slowing of cognitive decline and performed slightly worse on memory tests than the placebo group.
• Brain scans revealed no significant differences in amyloid plaque or tau protein accumulation between the treatment and placebo arms.
• Researchers warn that antivirals cannot be recommended for treating early Alzheimer’s and note that the potential of long-term prophylaxis for prevention remains untested.