Dr. Inglis points out that HSV-1 is more likely to enter the brain in those who carry the APOE gene. Is having that gene a predisposing factor to viral pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s?

This is true as well, that the APOE gene is a risk factor for dementia but not causal in and of itself. It is the joint presence of that particular gene as a predisposing factor, along with a chronic viral infection within the CNS that will bring about an expression of the dementia pathology.