For those who have been living with herpes for years, the news of a potential cure is a beacon of hope. Keith Jerome and Martine Aubert, virologists from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, have been leading research efforts to develop a gene therapy that could potentially eliminate the virus. The experimental drug consists of an injection of millions of lab-modified viruses that have been hollowed out to carry two different enzymes, small proteins that work like molecular scissors. Known as adeno-associated viruses or AAV, they are routinely used in gene therapies to transport genes or gene-editing proteins to target sites.
In their latest study, Jerome and Aubert tried the therapy for the first time to treat infections in a group of nerves called dorsal root ganglia, near the genital tract of mice. They found that experimental therapy reduced the latent virus in that country by 97%. Researchers are now conducting additional preclinical studies on therapy in guinea pigs, which naturally have recurrent outbreaks of latent herpes infections. The current treatments for herpes include antiviral medications such as acyclovir or valacyclovir, as well as home remedies such as applying a baking soda paste to dry the lesions and relieve itching.
Condoms are also strongly recommended to prevent new infections. Eating certain foods and avoiding others can boost your immune system and help your body respond to the virus. Taking a small dose of anti-herpetic medicines every day can reduce the number of outbreaks by more than 90%. Anna Wald, professor of medicine at the University of Washington, points out that recent studies indicate that herpes is becoming more common among young adults.
This is because the mice used in these studies do not naturally reactivate latent herpes infections, the source of the periodic outbreaks of painful sores that recur in humans. Genital herpes cannot be transmitted to another part of the body after the first infection. False-negative herpes tests can occur if the samples are not taken properly, if there is a long time of transportation between the clinic and the laboratory, or if the cultures were taken at the end of the evolution of the lesions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 40 to 50 million adults in the United States have genital herpes.
This is encouraging news from researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, where laboratory studies aimed at curing herpes simplex virus infections have continued despite interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The work of Jerome and Aubert represents a paradigm shift in the field, as it is assumed that once a person is infected with a herpesvirus it is impossible to get rid of that particular strain. Every time our immune system is exhausted, we are at greater risk of suffering an outbreak of herpes. Although lesions may be caused by something other than herpes, people who have recently been diagnosed with herpes should be tested for HIV infection and other sexually transmitted infections. Herpes medications may not work as well in patients who are very immunosuppressed and have been treated with these medications for a long time.
