Herpes, an oral drug widely used to restrain the virus that
causes genital herpes, seems to decrease the rates of HIV in men who would not
have genital herpes, based on a study by researchers in the National Institutes
of Health, Emory University, Case Western Reserve University as well as the
Civic Association of Health and Education in Lima, Peru.
The research is the first to demonstrate the drug will not
need the existence of herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV2) to curb HIV in patients.
The research demonstrates that HIV levels are likely reduced by the drug by
interfering with the reproductive machines of HIV.
The researchers registered 18 HIV-infected individuals, none
of whom was infected with HSV2, and treated them. Two times a day, half of the
subjects took valacyclovir as well as the other half received a placebo. After
fourteen days, the placebo group received valacyclovir as well as another group
received a placebo. When valacyclovir was taken by the subjects, their blood
HIV amounts decreased significantly.
"This study builds on our previously published work on
the effect of acyclovir on HIV-1.
A study by the exact same research team in 2008 revealed
that acyclovir suppresses HIV in lab cultures of human tissues that have been
infected with several types of herpes viruses. Valacyclovir, which will be
structurally much like acyclovir, is converted to acyclovir within the body and
remains in the blood more.
The primary writers of the paper are Andrea Lisco and
Christophe Vanpouille, both with NICHD.
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