Can ALZHEIMERS be triggered by common viruses like shingles and chickenpox. Can contracting herpes simplex, a common type of herpes, when young maybe, result in dementia in later life? No, not with shingles, anyway, said a study reported in the journal Neurology last month, shingles aren't linked with an increased risk of dementia. It seemed conclusive. They looked at the histories of nearly a quarter of a million Dutch people who'd had shingles. No visible effect. But the idea that inflammation is linked with later loss of brain function persists. And now, Oxford University scientists, and those from the private research university Tufts, in the US, say that the virus that commonly causes chickenpox and shingles, may activate herpes simplex (HSV), to set in motion the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.