Relieving Herpes

A new pill can thwart attacks

For the one out of ten Americans afflicted with genital herpes, the worst aspect of the sexually transmitted infection is that the symptoms keep coming back. "Herpes is forever," as one wag put it. The average sufferer endures five to eight bouts a year of painful, itchy blisters; many have outbreaks every month. Now, for the first time, there is hope for those so afflicted. According to two studies reported in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, daily doses of a new, capsule form of the drug acyclovir can prevent recurrences in many patients.

The drug, marketed by Burroughs Wellcome Co., under the brand name Zovirax, has been available in ointment form since 1982. "This is not a cure," emphasizes Virologist Stephen Straus, of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who directed one of the studies. But, he notes, "nothing in the past has been able to suppress recurring herpes."

In Straus' study, oral acyclovir prevented herpes outbreaks in twelve out of 16 patients who took the drug three times a day for four months. All 16 herpes sufferers in a control group had outbreaks during the period. In the second study, conducted at the University of Washington in Seattle, 68% of 96 patients taking acyclovir during a four-month test period remained symptom free, while 94% of those taking placebos developed blisters. In both studies, patients suffered flare-ups after they stopped taking the drug.

While subjects in the studies complained of few side effects beyond an occasional upset stomach, the long-term risks of taking acyclovir are unknown.

The drug works by interfering with the virus' reproductive process. When used as an ointment, however, it merely relieves the discomfort of an initial attack. The FDA is expected to approve the more potent oral form within a few months.