Experimental Gel Could Prevent Genital Herpes Infection
Experimental Gel Could Prevent Genital Herpes Infection
But follow-up study of the gel for HIV prevention yields disappointing results
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- A drug applied as a vaginal gel may substantially cut women's risk of contracting genital herpes, a common and incurable sexually transmitted infection.
That's the conclusion of a study published in the Aug. 6 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers found that the gel, applied vaginally before and after sex, halved women's risk of infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 2.
HSV-2 is the strain of the herpes simplex virus that causes most cases of genital herpes. It's a common infection: In the United States, an estimated 16 percent of 14- to 49-year-olds have an HSV-2 infection, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The virus is even more common in some other parts of the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, up to 80 percent of sexually active women and half of sexually active men are infected. The new study took place in South Africa, one of those hardest-hit countries.
The gel, which contains a drug called tenofovir, is still experimental, stressed study leader Dr. Salim Abdool Karim, director of the Center for the AIDS Program of Research, in Durban, South Africa.
Further research will probably be necessary for drug regulators in various countries to consider approving the medication, Karim said.
The current trial was not primarily designed to test tenofovir gel against HSV-2; its main aim was to curb the risk of HIV transmission. The oral formulation of tenofovir, which is marketed as Viread, is already used to treat HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Earlier results from the trial had suggested the gel version can reduce women's risk of contracting HIV. However, follow-up research yielded disappointing results -- largely because many women were not able to use the gel consistently.
With any such preventive therapy, "how people use it is important," said Dr. Connie Celum, a spokeswoman for Infectious Diseases Society of America and a professor at the University of Washington, in Seattle.
Still, she called the gel a "promising intervention that could reduce herpes acquisition."
Experimental Gel Could Cut Genital Herpes Risk
But follow-up study of the gel for HIV prevention yields disappointing results
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- A drug applied as a vaginal gel may substantially cut women's risk of contracting genital herpes, a common and incurable sexually transmitted infection.
That's the conclusion of a study published in the Aug. 6 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers found that the gel, applied vaginally before and after sex, halved women's risk of infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 2.
HSV-2 is the strain of the herpes simplex virus that causes most cases of genital herpes. It's a common infection: In the United States, an estimated 16 percent of 14- to 49-year-olds have an HSV-2 infection, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The virus is even more common in some other parts of the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, up to 80 percent of sexually active women and half of sexually active men are infected. The new study took place in South Africa, one of those hardest-hit countries.
The gel, which contains a drug called tenofovir, is still experimental, stressed study leader Dr. Salim Abdool Karim, director of the Center for the AIDS Program of Research, in Durban, South Africa.
Further research will probably be necessary for drug regulators in various countries to consider approving the medication, Karim said.
The current trial was not primarily designed to test tenofovir gel against HSV-2; its main aim was to curb the risk of HIV transmission. The oral formulation of tenofovir, which is marketed as Viread, is already used to treat HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Earlier results from the trial had suggested the gel version can reduce women's risk of contracting HIV. However, follow-up research yielded disappointing results -- largely because many women were not able to use the gel consistently.
With any such preventive therapy, "how people use it is important," said Dr. Connie Celum, a spokeswoman for Infectious Diseases Society of America and a professor at the University of Washington, in Seattle.
Still, she called the gel a "promising intervention that could reduce herpes acquisition."
