Herpes Drug Can Control AIDs Virus in Women, Study Finds
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Treating genital herpes can also help keep the AIDS virus under control in women with both infections, and might reduce the spread of HIV, too, the first major study to test this strategy suggests.
Many people with HIV are also infected with the herpes type 2 virus, and scientists have long known that herpes sores on the genitals can make it easier to become infected with the AIDS virus and could increase the risk of transmitting HIV to others.
In the latest study, conducted in Africa and published in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine, women who took the herpes drug valacyclovir had less HIV in their blood and in their genital secretions.
The study did not look at whether the drug, sold as Valtrex by GlaxoSmithKline PLC, actually reduces transmission of the AIDS virus. However, scientists generally have found that the more virus someone has, the greater the risk of transmission.
Doctors have been looking for novel ways to treat and prevent HIV infection, particularly in poor countries where few can afford modern AIDS drugs and the stigma keeps many from taking them. Researchers recently found that circumcision lowers the risk of spreading HIV, and they hope the same will prove true of treating herpes.