“While the HIV-disease ameliorating effect we have observed is modest, it could add one more tool to help people with HIV infection stay healthy for longer,” study co-author Dr. Jairam Lingappa, of the University of Washington, said in a news release from The Lancet.

The study, published online in the journal, analyzed what happened to almost 3,400 people in Africa who were infected with both diseases.

Half were assigned to take 400 milligrams of acyclovir twice a day, and the others took a placebo. Researchers tracked their progress for up to 24 months.

The risk of HIV progression was reduced by 16 percent in those who took acyclovir, the study found.

However, other research has suggested that acyclovir does not prevent transmission of HIV to heterosexual partners by people who take the drug, the scientists said.

The researchers said that other HIV drugs would have a greater impact on the progression of HIV in those who were infected. But , acyclovir could be an option for people who had not progressed far enough to need antiretroviral therapy, they said.

Technorati Tags: acyclovir, AIDS virus, antiretroviral therapy, Herpes Drug, herpes simplex virus, HIV, HIV drugs

As a matter of fact, even when it’s not causing an outbreak, the virus is shedding tiny bits of itself in the genital tract.

While the study did not specifically address whether or not the very small amounts of virus being continually shed are enough to infect someone else, the findings have the potential to change the way in which scientists view the life cycle of the disease.

The herpes virus is believed to hide out in the neurons around the spine during latent periods, then periodically travel down neurons that end in the genital tract, where it infects the skin cells, causing a lesion.

The accepted view is that the virus was largely inactive during latent periods, said study author Dr. Joshua Schiffer, a senior fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle.

“We’ve known for many years that herpes maintains a latent state in the nerves around the spinal cord. In effect, it hibernates there,” Schiffer said. “The older idea was that it didn’t do much while it was there … But what our model suggests is the virus is continually being released from the neurons.”

The study appears in the Nov. 18 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

The study looked at herpes simplex 2 virus, not herpes simplex 1 virus, which causes cold sores or fever blisters, though it can also cause genital lesions. Schiffer said he suspected the findings would hold true for herpes simplex 1 as well, though previous studies suggest herpes simplex 1 may shed less often.

Schiffer and his colleagues used data from two previous studies. In the first, participants swabbed their genitals every day during an outbreak and until their lesions went away. In the second, patients swabbed their genitals four times a day for 60 days, even when they were asymptomatic.

The data was then put into a mathematical model to determine the probable rate of shedding. According to the study, 85 percent of shedding episodes were asymptomatic, or did not cause a lesion. About 60 percent lasted less than 12 hours.

About 45 million Americans, or one in five over the age of 12, are infected with the genital herpes virus in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But many of them aren’t aware they are infected because they’ve never had, or have never been aware of, their lesions. “Within their skin there is this constant battle going on within the virus and the immune system,” Schiffer explained.

Typically, patients are counseled to avoid having sex during an outbreak and to use a condom to prevent transmission when they are not having symptoms.

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. But it’s too soon to suggest that low levels of viral DNA necessarily mean a person can still infect another.

She noted that the researchers tested for viral DNA, which is only a portion of the virus and doesn’t in and of itself mean a person is infectious. “The presence of viral DNA does mean you are infected, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you have an infectious particle there,” Sawtell said.

Secondly, because the neurons themselves were not examined, it’s possible the viral DNA that’s present could have originated from somewhere else in the body. Previous animal studies have shown herpes does indeed go into an inactive state.

“It would be really nice to be able to look at the neurons in this human model to determine that the virus is coming from the spine, and wasn’t just present in the genitalia and missed by an earlier swab,” Sawtell said.

Couples trying to avoid infecting one partner should continue to take the same precautions they did prior to the study, including using condoms even when asymptomatic.

“I wouldn’t panic over it,” Sawtell said. “We have a lot to learn about how infectious these low levels of viral DNA actually are.”

Technorati Tags: acyclovir, antiviral drugs, famciclovir, genital herpes, herpes simplex 2 virus, herpes virus, valacyclovir

Acyclovir
The oldest antiviral medication for herpes is acyclovir. Acyclovir is available as a generic drug and is also sold under the brand name Zovirax®. It has been available since 1982 in a topical form (as an ointment) and sold since 1985 in pill form. Acyclovir has been shown to be safe in persons who have used it continuously (every day) for as long as 10 years. (Buy Acyclovir Zovirax online)

Valacyclovir
A newer drug, valacyclovir (brand name Valtrex®), actually uses acyclovir as its active ingredient. This medication delivers acyclovir more efficiently so that the body absorbs much of the drug, which has the advantage of taking the medication fewer times during the day. (Buy Valacyclovir Valtrex online)

Famciclovir
Famciclovir (brand name Famvir®) utilizes penciclovir as its active ingredient to stop HSV from replicating. Like valacyclovir, it is well absorbed, persists for a longer time in the body, and can be taken less frequently than acyclovir.

Antiviral medication is commonly prescribed for patients having a first episode of genital herpes, but they can be used for recurrent episodes as well. There are two kinds of treatment regimens: episodic therapy and suppressive therapy. (Buy Famciclovir Famvir Online)

Episodic Therapy
In this approach, a person begins taking medication at the first sign of recurrence (or ideally at first signs of prodrome) and would continue for several days, in order to hasten the healing, or even prevent an outbreak from fully occurring. All three of the antiviral treatments mentioned above have been proven to help shorten the amount of time that a person may experience symptoms of herpes. However, keep in mind that results may vary from person to person.

Many people feel the advantages of using medication for recurrent episodes are marginal compared with use in a primary episode. But for others, episodic therapy offers a useful way to manage outbreaks by cutting the length of an outbreak by a day or two, on average. The benefits may be greater for those whose outbreaks tend to last longer.

Also, episodic therapy has its best results when treatment begins at the very first sign of prodrome. If lesions are already present, therapy may offer little benefit. Because the medications differ in their absorption rate and duration of effectiveness, dosages vary with episodic therapy treatment ranging from one to five pills every day for three to five days during an outbreak.

Suppressive Therapy
People with genital herpes who want to eliminate (suppress) outbreaks altogether can take antiviral medication daily to hold HSV in check so that it’s less likely to flare up and cause symptoms. For individuals who have frequent recurrences (six or more per year), studies have shown that suppressive therapy can reduce the number of outbreaks by at least 75% while the medication is being taken. Also, for some, taking an antiviral on a daily basis can prevent outbreaks altogether.

While antivirals can be successful in controlling herpes symptoms, researchers also have turned their attention to the important issue of antiviral therapy and asymptomatic shedding. Does suppressive therapy lower the risk of unrecognized herpes reactivation as well as curb recognized outbreaks? One study addressing this question found that women on suppressive acyclovir (400 mg, twice daily) had a 94% reduction in subclinical shedding while taking daily therapy. This type of study has also been done with famciclovir and valacyclovir, yielding similar reductions in both men and women.

Suppressive therapy has been studied in thousands of patients and it appears to be both safe and effective. Because the medications differ in their absorption rate and duration of effectiveness, dosages vary with suppressive therapy treatment ranging from one to two pills every day.

The poll included 503 U.S. adults with genital herpes and about 1,400 other adults who said they didn’t have genital herpes.

Participants answered questions about their relationships and views of genital herpes.

They ranked genital herpes second for social stigma, out of all sexually transmitted diseases (HIV took the top spot for STD stigma).

The poll also included a list of other potentially taboo topics, including HIV, gonorrhea, mental illness, obesity, substance abuse, and cancer.

Most participants — 64% of those without genital herpes and 56% of those with genital herpes — said they didn’t think any of those topics were taboo. However, genital herpes was the top-ranked “taboo” topic.

Among genital herpes patients, 39% said they were troubled by societal stigma about genital herpes. Far more genital herpes patients — 75% — were troubled by bothersome symptoms of genital herpes outbreaks.

Most people without genital herpes said they would avoid having a relationship with someone who has genital herpes and break up with a partner who had genital herpes.

Among people with genital herpes, 36% said they tell their partners about their genital herpes “well in advance of having sexual intercourse for the first time,” and 68% said they were concerned about transmitting genital herpes to their sexual partners.

But that doesn’t mean it’s easy for patients to talk to their partners about their genital herpes.

For instance, of the 325 genital herpes patients who reported having genital herpes outbreaks, 38% said they’d made up an excuse to avoid having sex during a genital herpes outbreak, instead of telling their partner about their outbreak.

Harris Interactive conducted the poll between Dec. 14, 2006, and Jan. 12, 2007. The poll was commissioned by the drug company Novartis.

SOURCE: Harris Interactive: “State of Genital Herpes 2007: Personal Story and Societal Stigma.”

Best medications for genital herpes treatment are Valtrex and Famvir.

Yes this is the reality. The disease is surprisingly common in the United States and beyond, and according to studies, as many as 50% of the adult population suffer from some infection at least once in their lives. So naturally, even herpes symptoms are fairly common.

The Herpes Simplex virus or HSV can be further classified as HSV 1 and HSV 2. HSV a cause of oral herpes, which is also known as cold sores.

When someone has been infected with HSV 1, the person is likely that the symptoms of herpes in the face or mouth. In principle there is only a bit of itching or burning in the nose or mouth. And then he began to become red-containing fluids blisters begin to appear at this stage. There may be only one or two blisters, or a cluster of many. The blisters also tend to vary in size.

An infection with HSV 2, on the other hand, the causes of genital herpes and herpes symptoms to appear in the genital areas of men and women. However we have seen that ladies have a higher risk of contracting the disease compared to their male counterparts. HSV 2 is essentially a sexually transmitted disease that spreads through sexual contact with an affected person.

Herpes symptoms of HSV 2 in men are mostly in the penis or areas close to it. But ladies, the symptoms of genital herpes in the form of injuries can be both inside and outside the vagina. When they are inside the vagina, it can lead to discharge white. So who is also a clear sign of symptoms of herpes. Internal injuries are difficult to see, as well.

No matter if it is HSV HSV 1 or 2, or a man or a woman, herpes some symptoms are common to all. What:

- Lymph glands get inflamed
- A constant headache
- Pain in the lower part of the body including back
- Fever
- The genital seem burning
- Problems and pain during urination
- Discharge from the vagina and penis

Once in contact genital herpes, the virus remains in the body for his life. There is no permanent cure to remove the virus from the body. In genital herpes is a disease not life-threatening, but he who has genital herpes is more susceptible to infection with HIV.

In genital herpes occur from time to time. When it is activated, you get blisters filled with fluid near the genitals or anus. After some time these blisters crust dry and without any scar. The episodes can be accompanied by symptoms such as fever. In most people the first episode is the most serious. In some people the symptoms are so insignificant that they can ignore it completely. Herpes continue to take from time to time. The frequency is different from person to person. During active herpes likely to transmit it to another person, are very high. But herpes can be transmitted even when wounds are not considered.

In genital herpes has no permanent cure. Anti viral drug is prescribed during the epidemic to reduce the intensity and time of the outbreak. Some people are advising long-term treatment with anti-viral drug to prevent frequent outbreaks.

Herpes could be treated by  using following medications:

• Acyclovir
• Famvir
• Valtrex
• Zovirax
• Rebetol

This article is for informational purposes only. This article is not intended to be medical advice and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any advice given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.

This type of pain that the Herpes Virus inflicts on its host (or suffering poor) is similar to the sciatica nerve pain, and how the continued breakout, becomes localized to the site of the first infection. The pain is more radiant and can be incredibly intense. In this Genital Herpes can cause discomfort when sitting, urine and serious epidemics on foot can worsen the pain.

With cold sores (Herpes), the pain can be aggravated by the wind, salty or acidic foods and division if the corners of the mouth. As with any breaking of oral mucosa, it is extremely difficult not to play with the language or with the teeth, which in turn make, take longer to heal, but with the intense pain-what to do?

A mixture of herbs and topical applications internal help minimize the pain, while the treatment of Herpes virus. The St John’s Wort is a great herb to treat Herpes, as has a virus and has been historically used to treat nerve pain. The St John’s Wort is also a great Nervine often used to treat depression. Before considering using St John’s Wort to treat Herpes, it is crucial to check with a doctor or Naturopath Erboristeria as St John’s Wort not interact with some prescription medicines.

Cusick Propolis is extremely effective way to minimize the pain and the recurrence of an outbreak Herpes. Studies have shown that propolis reduces recovery time and severity of the outbreak. Herbalists often do a balm or ointment to be applied to the affected area. It is essential to use a budget of cotton or some sort of applicator to prevent the spread of infection.

Having a friend to talk to about the symptoms of Herpes virus may help alleviate some of the physical pain, particularly with Genital Herpes. It is a full load of virus sticks around, taps into affects the nerves and emotions of guilt and shame. Having to hold all of this and to deal with hardship and to be degraded is to have a lot of carry. There are also support groups around each community where the stories can be shared and find solutions.

For a well-rounded and wellness Herpes plan is a great idea to consult with a physician or Naturopath Herbalist. Each infected person will have a slightly different symptoms and have different triggers. The best way to avoid the pain of Herpes is to build an impenetrable immune system, which will keep the virus dormant forever. Herpes I think as a barometer for the host’s health. If the host is strong, integrity and balanced mind, body, emotions and spirit, then the virus will have no space to move. However, a problem in all areas and the virus can come alive and revel in the misery incur.