Herpes. Just over 20 years ago, the very mention of the word made people tingle with fear. National publications gave the virus front-page treatment, describing it as “insidious” and the “new scarlet letter.” The impending end was proclaimed for the “sexual revolution.” The medical community shifted into high gear to prevent this epidemic from turning into an out-of-control pandemic. Nobel Prizes were awarded to two of the scientists involved In developing early treatments. But wait – judging from the numbers, these early efforts didn’t work.
In 1982, it was estimated that 20 million Americans were infected with HSV-2, also known as genital herpes. Today, despite the availability of acyclovir and its analogs, that number has grown to staggering proportions, with some studies estimating nearly 68 million Americans carrying the virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately one in five Americans 12 years of age and over are HSV-2 positive. Among women, the rate of infection is even higher, at one in four, and approximately 45 percent of all African Americans now harbor the virus.
Even more astounding is that HSV-1, the form of herpes commonly known to cause “cold sores” or “fever blisters,” affects in excess of 110 million Americans, resulting in over 335 million painful outbreaks annually.
Not surprisingly, most people don’t view oral herpes with the same concern or stigma as genital herpes, even though both viruses are virtually identical. However, it has become painfully clear that both HSV-1 and HSV-2 can be present in either bodily location, as changing social practices have been accompanied by migration of the “cold sore” virus to the genital region and vice versa. In both anatomic regions of the body, the herpes virus can cause great pain and discomfort to those who are infected. Herpes infections of the skin can also lead to other more serious (even life-threatening) medical conditions, and are highly contagious. In fact, there are those who believe that because HSV-1 is considered more of a nuisance and embarrassment than its dreaded counterpart HSV-2, it gets treated less aggressively and may actually be more of an epidemiologic threat than HSV-2.
Some researchers have shown that as much as 30 percent of all cases of genital herpes may actually be HSV-1 as opposed to HSV-2. The majority of transmission of HSV-1 to the genital area is believed to be through oral-genital contact. However, simply touching an oral lesion and then touching one’s genitals can result in genital herpes. In addition, if an individual infected with HSV-1 touches the infected area, then touches or rubs their eye, they can also infect themselves with herpes simplex keratitis, which, after multiple recurrences, can cause serious eye problems, and is the second leading cause of blindness in the United States.
Although there is no known cure for any of the herpes virus infections, the various acyclovir type drugs presently available have proven to be somewhat effective in shortening the duration of outbreaks and suppressing or lessening the severity of new outbreaks. However, a daily regimen of an acyclovir drug for suppressive therapy can be cost-prohibitive, and making an appointment with a primary care physician to battle an outbreak of HSV-1 can take longer than the duration of the average episode. It will almost certainly exceed the critical time window within which treatment must begin to attain the most effective results. The solution to this very serious problem might have been recently discovered by a small pharmaceutical company in Utah.
Quadex® Pharmaceuticals, LLC of Salt Lake City, Utah, has recently completed the clinical portions of the required studies to support an OTC launch of Viroxyn® . This single-dose topical treatment has shown remarkable results in relieving the pain and lessening the time it takes to heal the outbreaks caused by the cold sore herpes simplex virus. A pilot study of Viroxyn showed a mean healing time of 3.4 days, a remarkable improvement over the average 10 days it normally takes for an HSV-1 blister to heal. The same study also suggests that for many sufferers Viroxyn reduces or eliminates the pain associated with herpes-induced lesions in a matter of minutes. The availability of Viroxyn as an OTC cold sore treatment opens the door to ensuring that early treatment can begin without any of the delays associated with obtaining the prescription drugs mentioned earlier.
Ronald Johnson, the founder of Quadex and developer of Viroxyn, believes that the pain-eliminating ability of Viroxyn will be extremely valuable to those who suffer from herpes. “The pain associated with cold sores can be intense or debilitating. Because Viroxyn is a virucide and is applied directly to lesions, it kills the virus and so works faster than acyclovir type drugs. Acyclovir type drugs do not kill the virus, they have to work their way through the stomach, into the bloodstream and then diffuse to the sore. Once they get there they only interfere with the reproduction of the virus.” explained Johnson.
Unlike acyclovir treatments, which interrupt the genetic code of herpes and eventually cause the virus to stop growing, Viroxyn strips the lipid coating off the virus and kills it on contact in the affected area. So impressed was Ronald Keeney, MD, FAAP, FFPM with Viroxyn’s excitingly selective and unique new approach to the treatment of the herpes virus, that he accepted the position of Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at Quadex. “Having spent a good deal of my professional life working with herpes and the development of virus-inhibitory drugs, I’m thrilled to be involved in a new approach that has shown such great promise. Viroxyn is, without a doubt, the single most important addition to the choices for the treatment of herpes skin infections in the past 20 years,” said Keeney.
Although herpes can be contagious without any obvious lesions, an important factor in slowing the spread of the virus is healing the outbreaks and associated weeping, or oozing, as quickly as possible. Viroxyn should play a very positive role in this regard. As Dr. Keeney says, “Not only does it immediately stop the infection in the skin sores, but it kills any viruses present on their surface, these being the ones most likely to be transmitted to someone else. By contrast, mature viruses on the surfaces of sores are not at all affected by exposure to the acyclovir type drugs.”
Officials at Quadex say Viroxyn will be sold to consumers as an over-the-counter product and is being released through dental and medical professionals. In addition, Quadex will be pursuing additional FDA approval for Viroxyn® HZ for herpes zoster/shingles and Viroxyn® GH for genital herpes.
Information is available through JDMedical/Viroxyn Direct at 877-847-0084.
Online at www.coldsorenomore.com.