Herpes and Constipation: Firming Up a Loose Connection

Constipation and an inability to empty the bladder are rare, but not unheard of, complaints from patients who acquire a genital herpes infection. The thing is, doctors couldn't say how these seemingly unrelated symptoms were linked to the infection. Now, a team led by Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immunobiology at Yale University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, has discovered a mechanism that directly ties the viral infection with gastrointestinal complications. The