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.

The anti-herpes drug acyclovir can also directly slow down HIV infection by targeting the reverse transcriptase (RT) enzyme, researchers report in this week's JBC. This beneficial effect does pose a risk though, as HIV-infected cells treated with acyclovir promote the emergence of multi-drug resistant HIV variants.

Scientists at NanoBio Corporation have demonstrated for the first time in humans that a novel topical treatment for cold sores (herpes labialis), NB-001, speeds healing of lesions as effectively as the leading oral systemic drugs but without safety or toxicity concerns.

Herpes simplex virus type I can cause bouts of cold sores, blindness and potentially lethal encephalitis when it reawakens from a quiescent state in the nerve cells it infects.

The drug acyclovir, used successfully for decades to suppress outbreaks of oral and genital herpes, also can directly suppress HIV-1 in tissues already infected with a herpesvirus, researchers have discovered. The finding opens the way for the development of a new type of anti-HIV drug based on acyclovir.

Startling government research on teenage girls and sexually transmitted diseases sends a blunt message to kids who think they’re immune: It’s liable to happen to you or someone you know

University of Pennsylvania researchers have uncovered an important step in how herpes simplex virus, HSV-1, uses cooperating proteins found on its outer coat to gain entry into healthy cells and infect them. Further, the study’s authors say, they have demonstrated the effectiveness of monitoring these protein interactions using biomolecular complementation.

The number of people with the common cold core, usually present on and around the lips, tends to increase as temperatures drop outside. Indeed, oral herpes is quite common. There is no air of mystery about it. However, an average patient does not seem to be very knowledgeable about the disease.

A genetically engineered herpes simplex virus, primarily known for causing cold sores, may help keep arteries “free-flowing” in the weeks following angioplasty or stent placement for patients, according to research published early in the online edition of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America).