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. …

We’ve already covered this scientific development, but the LA Times take on it is worth a look. The story concerns the viral protein VP16, which scientists now think is produced before the herpes virus can leave the human nerve cell and cause any visible symptoms. If a drug can be produced to block production of this protein, it could mean an end to herpes symptoms. The LA Times have nominated the mice involved in the study as “rodent[s] of the week”.
“This completely changes our thinking about how this virus reactivates …

Members of the herpes-coldsores forum plan to raise awareness of herpes research by writing letters to Oprah Winfrey, the influential American chat-show host. The forum members intend to persuade Oprah to devote a show to the common herpes-simplex virus known as HSV-1 and HSV-2. Together the viruses are carried by as many as 90% of people in most populations.
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 …

The herpes virus is carried by as many as 90% of people in most populations. The virus inserts itself into nerve structures in the human skin, where it stays for the entire lifetime of the carrier. Some people get regular coldsores, many people get just one, and the majority of people have no symptoms at all.
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 …

Although there’s a mysterious quiet at Glaxo recently, the herpes vaccine Simplirix (formerly Herpevac) is finishing up Phase III trials. It won’t be of any use to anyone who already has herpes, but it’s the first real attempt to bring a vaccine to market. Current data suggests that the vaccine is around 75% effective at preventing infection and/or visible sores in women who don’t already carry either herpes type.
For some slightly dated information on this vaccine, take a look here.

A new herpes drug called ASP2151 could be a brilliant new alternative to the popular antiviral drugs acyclovir or Valtrex. The drug uses a different method to attack the herpes virus and may prevent visible symptoms much more effectively than any other currently available therapeutics.
ASP2151 is a long-awaited helicase primase inhibitor (HPI) drug.
The recent quarterly statement for Astellas brings encouraging news, suggesting that ASP2151 is now going into phase III trials.

At the moment it looks like NanoBio’s cream will reduce the average healing time of a cold sore by over a day. This makes it as good as, or slightly better than, anything else currently available for episodic treatment, including pills like Valtrex.
“NB-001 is an investigational nanoemulsion consisting of high-energy, nanometer-size droplets containing cetylpyridinium chloride, polysorbate, and oil…., the nanoemulsion droplets surround the virus and fuse with the viral envelope, causing membrane disruption and viral destruction.”
Interestingly, if you used it early enough, the study found it might reduce healing …

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins medical school have discovered a protein that is essential for the assembly of the Epstein-Barr virus, an important advance that might help researchers design new antiviral drugs to treat EBV and other related herpesviruses.
A team at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, led by virologist Prashant Desai, has been studying capsids, the protein shell of viruses. “Most of our studies have been on herpes simplex virus capsids,” Desai said.
“The herpesvirus capsids are made up of six proteins that interact together to produce an icosahedral structure. …

Canadian and U.S. researchers have identified a cellular process that seeks out and fights type 1 herpes simplex — cold sores. The five-year study, a joint project with the University of Montreal, Washington University and Pennsylvania State University, found that the nuclear membrane of an infected cell can unmask type 1 herpes simplex and stimulate the immune system to disintegrate the virus
“Once human cells are infected with Type 1 herpes simplex, the virus comes back because it hides and blocks protection from our immune system,” lead author Luc English, a …

Harvard Medical School researchers have succeeded in developing a topical treatment that, in mice, wipes out herpes virus, one of the most intractable sexually transmitted human diseases.
Judy Lieberman, professor of pediatrics and a senior investigator at the Immune Disease Institute, has overseen the development of the treatment that uses RNA interference, or RNAi, to disable key genes necessary for herpes virus transmission. That cripples the virus in a molecular two-punch knockout, simultaneously disabling its ability to replicate, as well as the host cell’s ability to take up the virus.
Source: Topical …