Zovirax News
Herpes Drug Fights HIV Too
AIDSmap reported, that in their recent studies they found that anti-herpes drug Zovirax lowers HIV viral load in the blood and genital secretions of men with underlying herpes simplex vius-2 (HSV-2). The study confirms earlier research and further suggests that herpes treatment, in the absence of HIV therapy, may have health benefits and help prevent ongoing transmission of HIV.
The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, studied Zovirax treatment in 20 men infected with both HIV and HSV-2. The men were randomized to receive either 500mg of Zovirax (acyclovir) twice a day or a placebo for eight weeks. Then after a two-week pause, the dosing groups were switched so that those who’d received placebo now received Zovirax and those who’d received Zovirax now received placebo for an additional eight weeks.
Treatment with Zovirax was associated with a 31 percent decrease in HIV viral load from rectal samples compared with placebo, and a 53 percent decrease in HIV in the blood. The study’s authors conclude that suppressing HSV-2 production in people coinfected with HIV results in significant reductions in both HSV-2 and HIV.
