This press release suggests there will at some time in the future be a pharmaceutical to combat the Herpes virus. While it will be welcomed by many, I personally do not like the idea of anything that can alter DNA.
Is this a cure for cold sores?
by ROGER DOBSON, Daily Mail
Scientists believe they have finally found a permanent cure for
cold sores. They say the treatment, a lotion, will be the first to
kill the virus that causes the sores and infects as many as nine
out of ten people in Britain at some time during their lives.
Existing treatments can minimise or even prevent an outbreak,
but they do not kill the virus which lies dormant when it is not
activated.
But the new lotion, which was developed as a by-product of
biological warfare technology, actually kills the virus by
exploding it from the inside.
Cold sores, members of the herpes family of viruses, are an
unpleasant fact of life for millions of people in the UK, with the
latest research estimating that between 25pc and 45pc of adults
have several attacks a year.
Once someone is infected with the cold sore virus, it never goes
away, but travels down the nerves at the site of the infection,
where it remains dormant between attacks.
These can be triggered by a variety of factors, including
stress, anxiety, depression, physical illness, a depressed immune
system or even sunbathing.
They can often emerge when they are least wanted, such as before
exams or an important job interview, and can form unsightly
scabs.
The first sign of an attack is a tingling sensation that is
caused by the virus as it starts to travel back down a nerve
towards the site where the lesion will form.
The most popular treatment is with creams containing the
anti-viral drug aciclovir, which are applied to the affected area
and minimise the effects of the virus, but do not kill it.
The lotion that researchers have developed not only halts the
attack, but kills the virus. It is made up of nano-particles of
detergent and solvents in emulsion.
These particles are so small that they penetrate the outer
coating of the virus and destroy its effectiveness.
Professor James Baker, professor of medicine at the University
of Michigan and director of the Center for Biologic Nanotechnology,
is leading the development of the material.
He and his colleagues came up with the idea while working on the
development of material to protect soldiers from biological warfare
weapons.
'The potential is tremendous. It is applied to the site of the
cold sore and the particles in the emulsion enter and destabilise
the virus, causing it to explode and die,' he says.
This is at such a small, cellular level that it would go
unnoticed by the patient and would have no ill-effects.
'We were looking at this material for other purposes when we
discovered that it had an anti-microbial activity.
'The secret is that these nano-particles are so tiny they get
inside the virus to cause the disruption.' In laboratory, animal and pre-clinical tests, the emulsion was
applied twice a day for two days to kill the virus. Human trials
are expected to start within the next few months.
The lotion will also work for genital herpes, a sexually
transmitted disease, and Professor Baker says it is being looked at
as a potential treat-ment for a range of other viruses, including
HIV, Ebola and smallpox.
'It seems to work against a broad range of viruses. Essentially,
it has had an effect on every virus that we have tried it on so
far,' he says. Researchers have also been working on a twice-a-day pill to
prevent the cold sore from growing by attacking the DNA of the
virus.
The aim is to meet the virus head-on as it emerges into the lip
or skin tissue and to stop it multiplying and forming bumps or
blisters.
The drug gets into the DNA of the virus and turns off its
ability to replicate, stopping it from reproducing itself and
expanding.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-37314/Is-cure-cold-sores.html
