Herpes Kills Your Butthole Neurons And Makes You Constipated

Skip to main content

CLOSE

Thank you!

We have emailed you a PDF version of the article you requested.

Can't find the email?

Please check your spam or junk folder

You can also [email protected] your safe senders list to ensure you never miss a message from us.

CLOSE

IFLScience Home

Herpes Kills Your Butthole Neurons And Makes You Constipated

Complete the form below to listen to the audio version of this article

36207EmailCountryPlease ChooseAustraliaCanadaUnited KingdomUnited StatesAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFiji IslandsFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern territoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyIvory CoastJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoNorth MacedoniaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth KoreaNorthern IrelandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaSaint HelenaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTajikistanTanzaniaThailandThe Democratic Republic of CongoTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, U.S.Wallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweReady to spark your curiosity? Get our newsletter full of awesome, inspiring, and strange science.You can unsubscribe at any time. View ourprivacy policy and terms below.Please ChooseYesNo

Listen

Cancel and go back

IFLScience needs the contact information you provide to us to contact you about our products and services. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time.

For information on how to unsubscribe, as well as our privacy practices and commitment to protecting your privacy, check out ourPrivacy Policy

Ad

• Support Science Journalism

  Become a member

  UPGRADE
• 

  MY ACCOUNT

• 

  SIGN OUT

• 

  MY ACCOUNT

• THE VAULT

• MAGAZINE

• 

  SIGN OUT

DOWNLOAD PDF VERSION

SHARE

FOLLOW

Here’s another reason why you really don’t want to get herpes: New research shows that the virus infects and kills the neurons of the colon, leading to an apocalyptic-sounding condition called toxic megacolon. Essentially, this means that the muscles of the digestive tract can no longer contract in order to squidge food along and out of the posterior porthole (that’s a fancy term for butthole).

The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) is normally contracted via the mucosal epithelial cells of the mouth or genitals, from where it infects the neurons of the peripheral sensory nervous system. Exactly how it spreads beyond this point in order to produce the many nasty symptoms associated with the disease is still pretty poorly understood.

One such symptom is constipation, with many herpes sufferers reporting difficulties in the bathroom. To investigate why this is the case, researchers vaginally infected mice with HSV-1, noting that roughly one-third of their subjects soon began to show signs of toxic megacolon.

After analyzing the neurons in the mice’s enteric nervous system (ENS), which regulates the gastrointestinal system, the researchers discovered that the virus had indeed spread to these neurons in those mice that had become constipated.

Reporting their findings in the journal Cell Host and Microbe, the study authors explain that this infection activated a number of genes that normally function to protect the body from pathogens by recruiting a type of white blood cell called neutrophils to destroy the offending invader. However, in this case, it seems that the neutrophils actually destroyed the neurons of the ENS, rather than the virus itself.

To confirm this, they repeated the experiment using mice that had been genetically engineered to lack neutrophils, and found that these mice did not develop toxic megacolon.

Exactly how the virus spreads from the genitals to the colon is not yet known, although the study authors propose that it may travel along certain nerve cells that connect the genitourinary and intestinal tissues.

Sadly for the mice, the destruction of the neurons in their colons was permanent, making life pretty uncomfortable for them. However, the researchers did at least find that treating them with a strong laxative helped to restore their motions, enabling them to do their business without the need for a functioning ENS.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHEDJune 9, 2016

Written by Benjamin Taub

Discuss (1 Comment)Discuss (1 Comment)

SHARE

FOLLOW

Add us as a Google preferred source to see more of our trusted coverage in Search

link to article

Veggie And Vegan Diets Lower Risk Of Several Cancers – But New, Biggest-Ever Study Raises A Few Surpriseshealth

Veggie And Vegan Diets Lower Risk Of Several Cancers – But New, Biggest-Ever Study Raises A Few Surprises

21 hours ago1

link to article

Chile Officially Eliminates Leprosy, The First Country In The Americas To Do Sohealth

Chile Officially Eliminates Leprosy, The First Country In The Americas To Do So

Yesterday

link to article

Man’s Endless Cough Had Doctors Concerned, Then They Found A Tiny Toy Traffic Cone In His Lungsmedicine

Man’s Endless Cough Had Doctors Concerned, Then They Found A Tiny Toy Traffic Cone In His Lungs

Yesterday1

Multimedia

link to article

Ancient Statues Had Detachable Heads And Smelled Good

Ancient Statues Had Detachable Heads And Smelled Good

link to article

Are We Really More Microbe Than Human? Find Out More In Issue 44 Of CURIOUS – Out Now

Are We Really More Microbe Than Human? Find Out More In Issue 44 Of CURIOUS – Out Now

link to article

AI Assassins, Inside A De-Extinction Lab, And Life On Mars?

AI Assassins, Inside A De-Extinction Lab, And Life On Mars?