Herpes

Association of herpesvirus with lung disorder questioned

Contrary to the results of a recent U.S. study, investigators in Japan found no association between a herpesvirus infection and a potentially life-threatening form of high blood pressure, as reported in the March 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online. The researchers reported that they were not able to detect human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), also known as the Kap...

Topical treatment shown to inhibit HIV and herpes simplex virus infection

Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers demonstrated that a gel applied in the vagina provides protection from both the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the herpes simplex Virus. The study, presented at the 12th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, is the first to show that a gel can retain anti-viral activity within the human vagina. The study, which was fund...

Live vaccines more effective against horse herpes virus

Following the recent deadly outbreak of equine herpes virus at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, a Cornell University virologist says his preliminary research indicates that vaccines containing weakened live viruses, called modified live vaccines (MLV), appear to be more effective in preventing horse herpes than other more widely used vaccines. "It's important that people know t...

Achilles heel of the herpes virus possibly found

It's one of the most common viruses in America, and one that causes the most guilt and shame. It can get inside almost any kind of human cell, reproduce in vast numbers, and linger for years in the body, causing everything from recurrent genital blisters to sores around the mouth. Its complications can kill, and it may increase susceptibility to many nerve and brain disorders. But until no...

Landmark discovery of a Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus receptor

Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have identified a critical human cell surface molecule involved in infection by Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV), the virus that causes Kaposi's sarcoma and certain forms of lymphoma. Kaposi's sarcoma is a major cancer associated with HIV/AIDS, and it typical...

Knowledge of infection may prevent spread of herpes virus

A new study suggests that the risk of transmitting the virus that causes most cases of genital herpes could be cut in half by more testing and informing sexual partners of infection. The study is published in the July 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online. Until recently, there was little evidence to show that knowledge of infection would lead to decreased tra...

Study shows how herpes infects cornea, evades immune cells

Herpes virus has an unusual strategy for infecting cornea cells that may also explain how it evades the immune system, according to a study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. Both strains of the herpes virus -- HSV-1, the strain that causes cold sores on the mouth, an...

Research holds promise for herpes vaccine

A study by a Montana State University researcher suggests a new avenue for developing a vaccine against genital herpes and other diseases caused by herpes simplex viruses. In a study published earlier this year in the Virology Journal, MSU virologist William Halford showed that mice vaccinated with a live, genetically-modified herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) showed no signs of disease...

UCSF study will test new vaginal microbicide for herpes and HIV

A team of researchers at UCSF is seeking young women to participate in the first U.S. study of the safety of a new a vaginal gel designed to prevent herpes and HIV infection. If it is effective and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the gel would be an important weapon in the fight against HIV because it would allow women to protect themselves from infection rather than rel...

Anti-herpes treatment reduces HIV levels in women infected with both viruses

Experts call for HSV control measures, including vaccine, to rank high on international HIV prevention and research agenda as exciting trial findings are published Treating women who are infected with both the HSV-2 and HIV viruses with anti-herpes treatment can reduce the amount of HIV in the blood and genital secretions, according to the results of a trial published today in the New Engl...

Herpes infection may be symbiotic, help beat back some bacteria

Mice with chronic herpes virus infections can better resist the bacterium that causes plague and a bacterium that causes one kind of food poisoning, researchers report in this week's Nature. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis attributed the surprising finding to changes in the immune system triggered by the long-term presence of a latent herpes virus infect...

'Insulator' helps silence genes in dormant herpes virus

By adulthood, most people have suffered at least one bout of painful cold sores brought on by the Herpes simplex virus 1, also known as HSV-1. After the initial infection, the virus usually remains in the body, hiding out in nearby nerve cells where the victim's immune defenses cannot reach it, causing no symptoms at all. In order to escape detection by the body's immune system, the latent...

Herpes virus hijacks DNA repair process

The DNA damage response normally fixes DNA errors caused by radiation or other environmental factors, or mistakes accidentally introduced when cells c...