Herpes Linked to Common Gastrointestinal Disorders

Georgia-based Virios Therapeutics, Inc. announced today the results of a pilot study performed at the University of Alabama that provides evidence for a potential mechanistic connection between active herpes virus infection and functional gastrointestinal Disorders ("FGID"), with or without comorbid fibromyalgia ("FM"), as well as the potential for combination antiviral therapy to treat patients with FGIDs and FM.

In the current study, gastric herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection, as indicated by the presence of both HSV-1 DNA and ICP8 protein, was associated with FGID diagnoses in the presence and absence of comorbid FM, concluded these researchers.

 R. Michael Gendreau, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Virios Therapeutics, commented in a press release issued on June 1, 2022, "The study examined gastric mucosa biopsies from three cohorts: patients with FGID, patients with both FGID and FM, and control patients."

"Biopsy specimens were analyzed for the presence of active herpes virus infections."

As discussed in the publication, there was a marked increase in the presence of actively replicating HSV-1 in gastric mucosal tissue from the FGID and the FGID and FM patient groups compared to control patients."

"This finding highlights the potential role of activated HSV-1 as a potential root cause of common chronic gastrointestinal disorders."

"Importantly, neither histological gastritis nor H. pylori infection was associated with FGIDs or FM."

"This publication provides further visibility to the medical community of the potential utility of combination antiviral drug therapies, such as IMC-1, for patients with chronic illnesses such as FM and irritable bowel syndrome ("IBS"), which are often described as functional disorders," concluded Dr. Gendreau.

Additionally, FGIDs, including IBS, functional dysphagia, and functional dyspepsia, may be related to active HSV-1 infection.

Further investigation into the prevalence and possible causal nature of this association is warranted, stated these researchers.

Titled "Gastric Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection is Associated with Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders in the Presence and Absence of Comorbid Fibromyalgia: A Pilot Case-Control Study," published in the peer-review journal Infection on April 21, 2022.

As of June 1, 2022, the U.S. FDA has not approved a herpes prevention vaccine. Herpes vaccine development news is posted at PrecisionVaccinations.com/Herpes. 

Note: This information was manually curated for mobile readership.

Limitations of this pilot study include its small sample size, group demographic differences, single-site selection biases, and a lack of corroborating serological data. Virios Therapeutics, Inc funded the study.