Amyloid precursor protein (APP) dysfunction is a key feature in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The sortilin-related receptor 1 (SORLA) functions as a chaperone protein to APP and has reduced expression in AD brains. The APP and SORLA dysfunction results in homeostasis destabilization. Herpesviruses are suspected to be involved in AD pathogenesis. Using a strategic nucleotide BLAST to query SORL1 and APP nucleotide alignment on all Herpesviridae genomes identified similarity sequences from the Epstein-Barr virus and herpes simplex virus 2. The invention describes a treatment to alleviate EBV and HSV2-mediated neurodegeneration by delivering antisense oligonucleotides sequences that target the EBV and HSV2 non-coding sequences to block SORLA and APP disruption. The invention further describes methods to eradicate EBV infection by delivering inducible expression of antisense oligonucleotides targeting EBV genes or an inducible CRISPR/Cas gene-editing system, together with an expression construct encoding anti-apoptotic proteins or with anti-apoptotic proteins for the prevention of cell-mediated apoptosis.