Genital Herpes May Never Go Dormant Nov 20, 2009
Antiviral drugs available, including acyclovir, valacyclovir and famciclovir, can control many, but not all, outbreaks, Schiffer said. Nancy Sawtell, a researcher in the division of infectious diseases at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, said the study opens up new avenues for research. (MEDLINEplus)
Creating Less Toxic Anti-HIV Drugs: Discovery Of Enzyme Structure Points The Way Oct 16, 2009
16, 2009) By discovering the atomic structure of a key human enzyme, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have pointed the way toward designing anti-HIV drugs with far less toxic side effects. Their work was published this week in Cell. (Science Daily)
Maternal and Neonatal Herpes Simplex Virus Infections Oct 1, 2009
Untreated neonatal HSV infection is associated with only a 40% survival rate, and even with the early initiation of high-dose intravenous acyclovir therapy, it results in considerable disability among survivors. On the basis of hospital discharge data, the frequency of neonatal HSV infection in the United States varies. (New England Journal of Medicine)
Shingles Complications and Treatmen... Aug 23, 2009
According to a 2000 article in Opthamology Times by Lynda Charters and Alan Palestine entitled Famcyclovir an option for ophthalmic zoster," Famcyclovir may reduce symptoms of herpes zoster opthalmicus, particularly if started early in the progression of the infection. This article indicates that famcyclovir is more effective than acyclovir in treating herpes zoster opthalmicus. Bacterial Infection Resulting From a Shingles Infection According to the CDC, a superinfection of bacteria may occur... (Suite101.com)
Scientists learn why even treated genital herpes sores boost the risk of HIV infection Aug 3, 2009
Scientists have uncovered details of an immune-cell environment conducive to HIV infection that persists at the location of HSV-2 genital skin lesions long after they have been treated with oral doses of the drug acyclovir and have healed and the skin appears normal ... "The findings of this study mark an important step toward understanding why HSV-2 infection increases the risk of acquiring HIV and why acyclovir treatment does not reduce that risk," says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.... (EurekAlert!)
Herpes medication does not reduce risk of HIV transmission May 9, 2009
A recently completed international multi-center clinical trial has found that acyclovir, a drug widely used as a safe and effective treatment to suppress herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), which is the most common cause of genital herpes, does not reduce the risk of HIV transmission when taken by people infected with both HIV and HSV-2 ... Researchers had hoped that acyclovir's ability to suppress the herpes virus, which causes symptomatic genital sores and breaks in the skin but also frequently is... (EurekAlert!)
The Mediterranean diet eases chronic back pain Apr 28, 2009
Dietary restraint together with L-lysine have worked better for me than acyclovir, which I took for a year as part of a study at the University of Rochester. I have read about both nut avoidance and L-lysine, but often when I speak to physicians about it they are not aware of it. (Athens Banner-Herald)
Radioimmunotherapy: Promising Treatment For HIV Infection And Viral Cancers Feb 24, 2009
15, 2008) The anti-herpes drug acyclovir can also directly slow down HIV infection by targeting the reverse transcriptase enzyme, researchers report. This beneficial effect does pose a risk though, as. (Science Daily)
