downtoearth-subscribe

End of innocence

End of innocence an unhealthy diet, unfavourable genes, excessive smoking and obesity are factors already known to cause heart ailments. There is now an addition to this list. Researchers say that viruses too can play an role in causing heart problems. A member of the herpes virus family, cmv had long been considered as one of the least harmful viruses to infect people. Although it does not produce any symptoms when it first infects a person and normally remains dormant, the virus can become life-threatening in those individuals who, for instance, have their immune systems suppressed by aids or take drugs to prevent the rejection of transplanted organs.

Researchers had for long suspected a link between atherosclerosis (the narrowing of vital arteries) and viral infection. Nearly two decades ago, Earl Benditt of the University of Washington in Seattle, had suggested that blocked arteries might be a sort of

Related Content