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Sexually transmitted diseases can partly be the fault of the American dementia epidemic, experts warn.
The latest government data shows STDs such as syphilis, Chlamydia and Herpes are all emerging in the United States and influence one in 100 Americans.
The increase, especially in the nursing homes of America and among older adults, has largely been blamed for the increased popularity of dating and connection apps, poor sex education and lack of access to health care.
Left untreated, these can lead to problems such as infertility and cancer.
However, emerging research suggests that STDs can also increase the risk of dementia, a memory -robbing condition that affects 7 million Americans – a number that is expected to almost double by 2060.
Researchers told DailyMail.com while 'more research is needed', studies show that STDs such as syphilis, herpes and human papillomavirus (HPV) can travel to the brain and lead to inflammation and neuron damage.
This can mainly be concerned for older adults who have spread STDs with higher rates than ever, because the risk of dementia every five years after the age of 70 annuals.
The doctors insisted on all adults with an STD or the risk that there is a risk of avoiding sexual contact or using condoms to reduce the chance of spreading.
STDs spread through sexual contact such as kisses, oral sex and penetrating sex. Some studies have specifically linked oral sex to an increased risk of herpes (stock image)
About one in 100 American adults has an STD, including more than 209,000 cases of syphilis, more than 600,000 cases of gonorrhea and more than 1.6 million cases of chlamydia, according to the CDC.
There were 2.4 million sexually transmitted infections in 2023, which increased three percent compared to the previous year.
According to the CDC, it is assumed that STDs have risen by 90 percent in the last 20 years.
Herpes
One of the most common STDs is herpes, distinguished by two types: HSV-1 and HSV-2.
Dr. Daniel Atkinson, Clinical Lead on Treated.com, told DailyMail.com HSV -1 causes blisters and cold scores on the edge of your mouth – oral herpes – while HSV -2 usually causes genital herpes.
He said: “Both types of herpes can also be asymptomatic, which means that you can easily spread it to a partner without knowing it.”
Almost half of the Americans have HSV-1, while one in eight HSV-2 has.
Herpes came into the spotlight earlier this month when a study by the University of Chicago looked at the HSV-1 effect on mice.
Herpes is usually transferred from a carrier to a person without herpes by touching a cold pain, who actively produces or throws the virus.
However, it also leads to genital herpes by spreading by oral sex.
The study showed that HSV-1 Kaaft a naturally occurring enzyme called heparanase (HPSE), which produces high levels of inflammation.
The CDC said there were signs in November that the Sti epidemic slows down after nailing 90 percent in the last 20 years
The graph above shows the rate per 100,000 people for the total number of syphilis cases that has been registered in the US since the 1940s. It reveals that they started checking again
This means that when HSV-1 travels to the brain through the trigeminal or smell of smells, this can cause inflammation or other forms of brain damage related to dementia.
However, the researchers warn that cases where HSV-1 infects the brain are rare, which in just two to four cases occur for every 1 million people with the herpes virus.
In the experiment, mice that dripped HSV -1 in their noses dripped memory loss, anxiety and loss of balance – all warning signals for dementia – within six months.
And in a November survey of more than 1,000 people in Sweden in the course of 15 years, researchers discovered that people infected with HSV-1 were twice as likely to develop dementia than those who were not infected.
The experts suggested that this could be because Herpes leads to flare-ups that cause full-body inflammation, which encourages and damages delicate tissues in the brain.
EN 2024 Research from South Korea Using health data from 750,000 adults found people with HSV and Varicella Zoster virus (VSV) – the virus that causes chicken pox and shingles – more likely to develop dementia.
The team said this could be because the viruses can damage neurons in the brain.
Dr. Atkinson said that although the results of these studies seem alarming, “more research is needed into the connections between herpes and dementia” and most studies have only demonstrated associations instead of a direct cause.
Syphilis
Dr. Atkinson noted that while the research into herpes is less sturdy, “there are certainly connections between dementia and other STDs.”
For example, untreated syphilis can lead to neuro syphilis, which attacks the brain and spinal cord and can lead to harmful inflammation.
Dr. Atkinson told DailyMail.com: “Neurosyphilis can appear as a rapidly continuous dementia, personality change and sometimes paralysis.”
According to the CDC, Syphilis rose by 80 percent from 2018 to 2022, which experts have accused of reduced condom use of drug use.
A recent study suggested that only one in four American adults aged 18 to 44 used a condom the last time they had sex.
HIV and HPV
Dr. Atkinson also noted that people with HIV can run a higher risk of dementia, because the virus can cause 'cognitive and motor symptoms'.
This is called HIV dementia or HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (hand). This can be treated with medicines to reduce the viral burden on HIV and lifestyle changes such as exercise.
HPV – a group of more than 200 viruses that at some point affected almost every American and currently affect 40 percent of Americans – is also linked to increased risks of dementia.
A 2020 study in the Journal of Dermatology using health insurance data from 16,000 patients in Taiwan found that patients with genital warts of HPV had an increased risk of developing dementia of 49 percent.
However, the researchers emphasized that the findings only showed an association and not a direct cause.
In addition, a survey from 2024 found a 1.6-time increased risk of dementia in patients with cervical cancer in the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer.
Cervical cancer, who affects 13,800 American women a year and kills 4,300, is caused by HPV in 99 percent of cases, the CDC estimates.
The authors wrote: 'These findings suggest [cancer-causing] HPV infections can have an association with dementia. '
They warned further research into this relationship is necessary.
Gonorrhea
Recent research shows that gonorrhea and dementia can also be related.
A study from 2022 in the magazine Molecular Biology and Evolution, for example, found a mutation in the CD33 gene, an immune cell receptor, which protects against cognitive decline can do this as a result of the evolution of gonorrhea bacteria.
However, gonorrhea is one of the few STDs that decrease in the US, with the rates by seven percent between 2022 and 2023.
The collection meals
Dr. Atkinson noted that although more research is needed into STDs and dementia, “It is important to try to prevent the infection from being spread when you have it, no matter how old you are.”
“If you have an outbreak of symptoms, avoid vaginal, anal or oral sex, or wear a condom to limit your chances to pass on the infection,” he added.
