Alzheimer's: An Epidemic: Diabetes, Herpes or Something Else?

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"It would have profound impact on the way we clinically approach patients who are at risk, or who may have herpes simplex virus, if we knew that they were at increased risk for Alzheimer's," Dr. Federoff says. 

But Jeffrey Cummings, M.D., a neurologist at the UCLA School of Medicine, says Alzheimer's is probably caused by many factors.

"Environmental factors do appear to be involved in the disease," Dr. Cummings says. "For example, people with a head injury are more likely to get Alzheimer's disease."

Experts say other risks for Alzheimer's disease include being female, having high cholesterol, and having high blood pressure. A recent study also showed lonely people are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's, and those in western countries are at greater risk than those in India, where people have diets high in anti-oxidants.
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