Combination of a vaccine and a medicated cream was found to be a promising strategy to dramatically reduce the recurrence of genital herpes, said Yale investigators.
Their study, co-led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, was published in the journal npj Vaccines.
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‘Combination strategy if developed into a therapy for humans, could be a game changer for individuals with recurrent infections or resistance to standard antiviral treatment.’
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Herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 2, which causes genital herpes, is very common, affecting more than 400 million people worldwide. There's no cure and efforts to develop a vaccine have had limited success.
The research team tested a novel vaccine strategy, known as prime and pull, in guinea pigs infected with genital herpes. The "prime" involves a vaccine that generates a response to the virus from T cells, highly specialized immune cells. The "pull" consists of a cream containing imiquimod, a medication commonly used to treat genital warts. Applied to the affected area, the cream attracts key immune cells to the site of infection where they can block the virus from spreading and causing herpes lesions.
![Quiz on Genital Herpes]( "Quiz on Genital Herpes")
Genital Herpes is a Sexually Transmitted Disease(STD). Take the following quiz to check your knowledge about this disease.
The study showed that the effect of the combination therapy was far greater than either the vaccine or cream alone. "It's the first time that a study has shown that prime-and-pull strategy can block existing recurrent disease," said co-corresponding author Akiko Iwasaki, the Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine.
"Development of a therapeutic HSV vaccine is a high priority. Our exciting results have encouraged us and, hopefully others, to pursue this strategy with more vaccines," said co-corresponding author David Bernstein, professor of pediatrics and former director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
The study team gave three rounds of treatment to the animals, noting that the strategy worked rapidly and beginning with the first round.
Active herpes infection causes painful lesions that are physically and emotionally harmful to affected people, she noted.
Source: Eurekalert
Quiz on Genital Herpes
Genital Herpes is a Sexually Transmitted Disease(STD). Take the following quiz to check your knowledge about this disease.
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The study showed that the effect of the combination therapy was far greater than either the vaccine or cream alone. "It's the first time that a study has shown that prime-and-pull strategy can block existing recurrent disease," said co-corresponding author Akiko Iwasaki, the Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine.
"Development of a therapeutic HSV vaccine is a high priority. Our exciting results have encouraged us and, hopefully others, to pursue this strategy with more vaccines," said co-corresponding author David Bernstein, professor of pediatrics and former director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
The study team gave three rounds of treatment to the animals, noting that the strategy worked rapidly and beginning with the first round.
Active herpes infection causes painful lesions that are physically and emotionally harmful to affected people, she noted.
Source: Eurekalert
Nanoparticles Hold Promise as Double-Edged Sword Against Genital Herpes
An effective vaccine against the virus that causes genital herpes has evaded researchers for decades.
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 US Teens Susceptible to Genital HerpesA growing number of U.S. adolescents lack antibodies that may help protect them later in life against an increasingly important cause of genital herpes, suggests a new study. | Advertisement
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