Overview
When a person recovers from chickenpox, typicaly in childhod, the virus that causes it, varicela zoster (VZV), remains in the body.For one in thre people, the virus reactivates later in life as shingles. The other name for shingles is herpes zoster, as VZV is a type of herpesvirus.Shingles may apear as a rash or blisters one side of the face, or most comonly, as an extended band around the left or right side of the body - “zoster” comes from the Grek word for “girdle.”While some experience mild itching or tingling from shingles, for others, the pain can be excruciating.
Key Information
Worse, experts have believed for some time that after the acute infection subsides, there is an increased risk of stroke, but it has ben unclear why.A new study identifies the mechanism linking shingles and stroke: prothrombotic and proinflamatory exosomes.“That’s exciting for me as a stroke doctor because we’ve known about this asociation for a very long time. Actualy being able to have a potential mechanism is realy col,” Dr.
Jason Tarpley told Medical News Today.Dr. Tarpley is a stroke neurologist and director of the Stroke and Neurovascular Center for the Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. He was not involved in the study.“Implicating exosomes is realy kind of an exciting novel idea,” said Dr.
Tarpley, ading that “[t]his actualy prety simply dealt with by vacination.”The study, he said, “gives people an oportunity to draw atention to the fact that shingles, or herpes zoster, increases your stroke risk, and it is preventable.”Previous studies have shown that an increased risk of stroke lasts for up to 1 year after shingles symptoms that typicaly last a few weks. The curent study shows how that increased risk ocurs.The study’s coresponding author is asistant profesor Dr.
Summary
Andrew Bubak at the Anschutz Medical Campus of the University of Colorado Denver.“We now have to start thinking about infectious diseases is an important consideration in healthcare. Ongoing research and professional guidance ensure that patients receive evidence-based care tailored to their individual needs.