In animals the drug has been demonstrated to remove viruses from the body. The lead researcher, Dr Thorpe, is now running clinical trials on Bavituximab’s effectiveness at treating Hepatitis C and HIV.

Although herpes studies have not begun yet, Bavituximab could be effective in treating the condition.

Bavituximab is a broad-spectrum drug, meaning that it may treat many different viruses. This is because it improves the cell’s defense against all viruses, rather than attacking a specific type of virus directly.

Asked whether Bavituximab might be effective against latent viruses, like herpes, Dr Thorpe told The Behavioral Medicine Report that, “the current thought is that you might be able to deplete the pool of virus during the active phase of infection and if the latent pool of virus can not be replenished then it will die out.”

Dr Thorpe did not comment on when the drug would be available, but hopes that it might be fast-tracked, given that it may also treat HIV.

You can read more about this exciting new herpes drug here.

Herpesisnormal is campaigning for better awareness and understanding of herpes. Despite the fact that herpes is carried by most people, harmlessly and invisibly, there is still enormous fear and misunderstanding surrounding the condition. Many people think herpes is rare, but in fact the symptoms are rare, the virus is common.

Do your part to spread the word, print out these designs and stick them wherever you think they might be useful. Bathroom stalls, club walls, lamp-posts and notice boards.

To print out the stickers, right click the images below, copy them in turn, and then paste them into the software of your choice — Word, for example. Or, alternatively, click here for a ready-to-print sheet of stickers.

Here are the stickers to copy-and-paste:

Vical are reported to be making progress with their immunotherapeutic vaccine. An immunotherapeutic vaccine is one which provides immunity for those who do not carry herpes, as well as treatment for the majority of the population who already do.

One of the investigators, Dr David Koelle said, “We are encouraged that the CD8 T-cell responses observed in mice after DNA vaccination matched those observed after natural HSV-2 infection, suggesting that the appropriate tegument protein epitopes together with surface glycoproteins may provide interventional vaccine opportunities.”

“We believe these responses may be important in controlling HSV-2 reactivation and the related genital lesions. Our goal is to manage established HSV-2 infection to reduce both disease symptoms and the potential to infect others. We look forward to advancing a suitable vaccine candidate toward human clinical testing.”

For more about this research, read the press release here.

Meet The Scientist has a fascinating interview with David Knipe of Harvard University. Knipe is developing a vaccine against HSV-2.

Knipe discusses the challenges that researchers have faced in developing a vaccine against the virus, and explains why his new vaccine may be an answer. Knipe’s vaccine has been shown to protect animals who are yet to be exposed to the virus, and also reduce symptomatic disease in those who are already carrying the virus. Acambis are now developing the vaccine for clinical trials in humans.

Knipe also talks about the increasing social acceptance of vaccines against sexually transmitted conditions.

Although acyclovir is an impressive drug with few side-effects, it is far from perfect. Carriers can still transmit herpes while taking the drug, although the risk is significantly decreased. It is also not effective in every case.

After decades of quiet, recent advances in science may mean that a range of new antiviral drugs will be available in the near future. Already companies like Vironova are talking about “broad-spectrum” antivirals — a single drug that takes action against all kinds of different viruses, in the same way that antibiotics take action against all kinds of bacteria. Other drugs. like Bavituximab, take a similar approach, targeting and destroying many kinds of virus in the body. Of course, neither of these drugs are known to enter the human nerve, where herpes hides out most of the time, but they could be significantly more effective than acyclovir in suppressing the virus.

In an interesting report on state-of-the-art antivirals, Erik De Clercq says that the development of antiviral drugs is now “progressing at the pace antibiotics were 30 years ago.”

Herpes carriers around the world are writing letters to Oprah, asking for a show dedicated to the common virus herpes simplex. Although herpes is carried by 50-90%+ of most populations, a much smaller number of people have any symptoms. These symptomatic people are often stigmatized, while the majority of people without symptoms can still transmit the condition. Carriers want better awareness of how common the condition is, and more money put into researching new treatments or even a cure.

If you would like to write to Oprah, we’ve made it easy. Click here to download a quick letter. Then simply write your name at the end of the letter and mail it to Oprah producer Gina S. at the address below. Or, if you’d like to write your own letter using the information in this template letter, you can download a Word document here.

So, pick either the quick letter, or the custom letter and get those letters posted today!

The address to mail the letters to is:
The Oprah Winfrey Show
Attn: Show Producer Gina S.
PO Box 909715
Chicago IL 60690
USA (if mailed from outside the US)

Or if you want to email Oprah instead, you can use the form here. We would suggest mailing your letter though, it will have more impact. If you’d like to help with the campaign, or talk about it, visit the herpes-coldsores.com discussion here.

We’re trying to get most of the letters to Oprah by April 6th, so mail yours today!

“This completely changes our thinking about how this virus reactivates from latency,” said Richard Thompson, a co-author of the paper and researcher at the University of Cincinnati, in a news release. “Instead of a simple positive switch that turns the virus on following stress, it appears instead to be a random de-repression of VP 16 gene that results in reactivation.”

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/03/rodent-of-the-3.html

The letter-writing campaign aims to raise awareness of how normal it is to carry herpes, and also to stimulate investment in new herpes treatments.

Although the majority of the US, Australian and UK populations carry herpes, only a minority have any visible signs of the condition. Only 1 in 10 carriers are aware they have the virus. Over 68% of Americans carry HSV-1, and more than 1 in 4 Americans carry HSV-2, often referred to as ‘genital herpes’, although either type can occur genitally.

If you would like to get involved with the letter-writing campaign, click here to visit the herpes-coldsores forum.

Scientists have now discovered that a viral protein called VP16 provokes herpes into causing visible coldsores. When this protein is created by a nerve cell that carries herpes, it causes the virus to make copies of itself, often resulting in visible signs of the virus: a coldsore, orally or genitally.

Herpes recurrences are usually associated with a fever, so in this study the scientists simulated high fever in mice. They found that VP16 was necessary for the virus to reactivate.

“Future studies will use this new information to develop strategies to prevent or control herpetic disease, said Dr. Sawtell, who also is an associate professor of Pediatrics at UC.”

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090326215050.htm

Other news sources for this story:
http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=51904776
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/03/27/treatment-target-for-herpes-pinpointed.html
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/cchm-dop031909.php

For some slightly dated information on this vaccine, take a look here.