Chronic stress modulates the virus-specific immune response to latent herpes simplex virus type 1

We compared 71 family caregivers of dementia sufferers and 58 control subjects on three different immune measures relevant to latent herpes simplex virus Type 1 (HSV-1) infection: neutralizing antibody titers, antibody titers to a total viral antigen, and a proliferative memory T-cell response. Caregivers had significantly higher antibody titers to the total viral antigen and a poorer HSV-1 specific T-cell response than controls, but no significant difference in neutralizing antibody titers between groups was observed. These data provide additional evidence that psychological stress can modulate a virus-specific immune response associated with caregiving.