Memory loss caused by West Nile virus explained

Study identifies targets for prevention, treatment. Thousands of people are living with memory loss and other long-term neurological problems as a result of West Nile virus, which is spread by mosquitoes such as the one shown here preparing to feed on a human host. Now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that these problems may be due to the patients’ own immune systems destroying parts of their neurons, which suggests that intervening in the immune response may help prevent brain damage or help patients recover. Every year as mosquito season arrives, so does West Nile virus, causing fever in thousands of people nationwide and life-threatening brain infections in an unlucky few. About half the people who survive that infection — West Nile encephalitis — are left with permanent neurological deficits such as memory loss. New research shows that these long-term neurological problems may be due to the...