Whom Should I Blame
I felt like I was the stupidest person on earth and even thought about killing myself. I knew after reading a lot on the Medline Plus that herpes is a lifelong disease, and there was no cure for herpes simplex virus. I blamed the guy. I am sure he knew that he had it. I could not believe that someone could be this heartless and careless about another persons health.
Though I have a feeling that he knew what he had, still the main person I blamed for this was myself. I was responsible for my own actions and I was the one who was going to suffer the consequences.
Next Steps For An Experimental Herpes Cure
Wilder: When do you anticipate moving to human trials?
Jerome: We want to do that as quickly as we possibly can, but first there are a few things we need to work out. We, first of all, want to generate similar data for herpes simplex virus 2 in a model system. Thats being lined up and happening now.
We are spending a lot of effort on ensuring safety and conducting studies looking at potential side effects. Getting to a human clinical trial is probably going to take at least the next three years, because the last thing we want to do is hurt someone.
Wilder: Reading your paper, I couldnt help wondering about other herpesviruses. Viruses like herpesviruses 4 and herpesvirus 6 can cause a great deal of complications for people. Could the meganucleases approach be effective for those other viruses?
Jerome: Sure, absolutely. Weve thought a lot about this.One point I want to make is that the research is very much focused on herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 right now. Our paper studied herpes simplex virus 1 because of the experimental model we used.
Herpes simplex virus 2 behaves almost identically. We do have to tweak the meganucleases a bit, and weve done that so that they recognize herpes simplex virus 2. We are working actively on right now.
Some of the most exciting work were doing must move beyond the herpesviruses. Weve thought some about HIV, although that tends to be a very difficult target in terms of getting the scissors to the right cells.
Terri Wilder, M.S.W.
Assuring Safety Before Human Trials Can Begin
The researchers are performing additional preclinical studies of the therapy in guinea pigs, which, unlike mice, have naturally recurring outbreaks from latent herpes infections. As with the mice, the initial focus of this research is in HSV-1, which is primarily associated with cold sores. However, Fred Hutch researcher Dr. Anna Wald points out that recent studies, including one she published with colleagues at the University of Washington, are hinting at a shift.
HSV-1 is becoming â particularly in first infections for adults under 30 â the leading cause of genital herpes, the more feared condition that has been traditionally associated with HSV-2. Regardless, if the experimental therapy works for HSV-1, the researchers are confident it can be relatively easily adapted to target HSV-2.
Wald, who also heads the Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at UW, has been researching vaccines to prevent or treat HSV infection since 1991. She said that Jerome and Aubertâs work is a paradigm shift in the field, because the assumption has been that once a person is infected with a herpesvirus â and there are eight members of that family â it is impossible to get rid of that particular strain.
âIt is a completely novel approach, in which you can take a member of the herpesvirus group and eradicate it from the host. As a proof of principle, the fact that it could be done on even one of them is kind of mind-boggling,â she said.
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When To Talk With A Doctor
Herpes isnt curable, but it can be treated with antiviral medications. These medications can reduce the severity of an outbreak.
If you suspect you have herpes, make an appointment with a doctor. Its also a good idea to talk with your doctor about a herpes screening if:
- your current or previous sexual partner has herpes
- youre planning to have sex with a new partner
- you had a risky sexual encounter
If youve already been diagnosed with herpes and youre currently experiencing an outbreak, the outbreak might go away without causing complications and without treatment.
However, its wise to make an appointment with your doctor if:
- the outbreak is particularly painful or unbearable
- youre experiencing symptoms of other STIs
- youre experiencing frequent, severe outbreaks
If youre sexually active, its a good idea to have regular STI screenings. You can book appointments for STI screenings with your doctors office. You could also try a local clinic, certain pharmacies, or Planned Parenthood.
Why Isnt There A Cure For Herpes Already
No company has managed to successfully develop a commercially ready herpes vaccine, however, several HSV vaccines have undergone phase I and II trials. Until recently, at least three pharmaceutical companies were overseeing clinical trials for herpes vaccine candidates. All three companies recently abandoned their research after failing to meet their primary endpoints.
How does herpes continue to hoodwink experienced researchers and scientists, when other devastating diseases like the measles, mumps, hepatitis B, and whooping cough have been nearly eliminated?
It all comes down to the unique behavior of the herpes simplex virus.
Herpes is a complex virus that knows exactly how to evade the immune systems grasp. It lies dormant in nerve cells for months or years at a time, then emerges without any warning to reactivate the infection. In this way, herpes behaves like a cancer that lurks in the body undetected until the damage is already done.
To make matters worse, as long as just a minuscule amount of infection remains after an outbreak fades, herpes can easily survive and reappear in future outbreaks.
Pharmaceutical companies are eager to uncover a cure for herpes, but they must first overcome an extremely long and expensive research process.
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A Workhorse Of Gene Therapy
The researchers also refined their methods of transporting the molecular scissors to targeted nerve cells. From the beginning, Jerome and his team have relied on a harmless, hollowed-out virus that is drawn to the surface proteins of nerve cells. Called an adeno-associated virus vector, or AAV, it is the little workhorse of gene therapy. In this case, it is used to ferry to the infected nerve cells genetic instructions that cause them to make those meganucleases.
âWe inject the AAV vector, and it finds its way,â Aubert said.
Latent herpes viruses lurk in clusters of nerve cells called ganglia, and researchers have found that some ganglia are harder to reach than others. Over the years, they discovered that some AAV strains are better suited than others to find specific types of nerve clusters, and this has helped them fine-tune the selection of these delivery viruses to match infected cells in different places.
In their mouse experiments, the team continued to improve their results, nudging them up to a 95% reduction in herpesvirus infection in one prominent nerve cluster using a selection of two different meganucleases carried by three different flavors of AAVs. By selecting vectors that are primed for harder-to-reach nerve clusters, the group expects to continue improving their ability to eradicate the virus.
Stoddard is also tweaking the meganucleasesâ structures to make them a better fit against HSV-2.
Aubert said that comes naturally to her.
Root Causes Of Herpes
Right out of the gate its important to understand that there are two specific types of herpes that you may be living with, either individually or both at the same time.
Herpes Simplex Virus Type I is easily the most common of the herpes variants, and is the herpes that most people describe as oral herpes. Herpes Simplex Virus Type II is a lot less common and is generally only ever going to present itself as a genital herpes outbreak.
While these viruses are different and distinct, they share so many similarities that most medical professionals refer to them interchangeably as simply herpes. On top of that, HSV-1 can also present itself orally as well as on the genitals , which adds a lot to the overall confusion.
Type I herpes usually manifest and cold sores or fever blisters around your mouth, and this version of the virus is most often spread through direct skin on skin contact. If someone that has Type I herpes kisses someone while their symptoms are present the odds of transmission are sky-high, for example.
Because HSV-1 is spread through skin on skin contact its also possible to spread oral herpes to the genital area during oral sex, though the odds of this happening are a lot lower than one would expect or anticipate.
HSV-2 is spread through skin on skin contact, but it can also be spread through sexual contact and bodily fluids. A lot more contagious than HSV-1, HSV-2 can be spread even when zero symptoms are obvious or being presented .
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Concerns About Potential Toxicities
The Hutch scientists note, however, that the good news is tempered by recent concerns within the gene therapy field about the potential for therapies using AAVs to cause liver and nerve damage.
The toxicity issue has been raised by other gene therapy researchers based on their own experiments. It does not appear to involve the gene-cutting enzymes used in the Hutch herpes studies, where those molecular scissors are performing as expected. Instead, it focuses on the AAVs used to package and transport them.
âAAV vectors in general have been considered quite safe. ⦠However, emerging work has suggested that AAV vectors may not be as fully innocuous as previously assumed,â the Hutch authors wrote in the bioRxiv paper.
They observed liver toxicity in some of their mice, but said it seems to be the result of very high concentrations of AAV, well above what is now known to be needed.
âWe know what the toxic dose is, and we get good results below that,â Jerome said.
The neurotoxicity is potentially more concerning. The Hutch team reported âsubtle evidence of neuronal injuryâ in mice when tissue samples were examined under a powerful microscope. However, they also saw no evidence in those animals of changes in behavior or mobility â such as gait or balance disturbances â after the gene therapy.
A priority in the next round of research will be to solve that mystery and, if necessary, find a way around it. The researchers remain confident the problem is solvable.
How Is Herpes Diagnosed
There are a couple of different ways your doctor can conclusively diagnose you as living with one of the two different herpes viruses. All of them will require you visiting your doctor person and potentially submitting yourself to a battery of different tests.
These tests are necessary, however, to conclusively prove that you are infected dealing with herpes and not some other underlying medical condition.
Viral cultures may be collected if the symptoms are still presenting themselves. Tissue samples of the outbreak area will be collected and examined in a laboratory, and results are almost immediate.
A blood test can also conclusively determine whether or not you have herpes simplex living inside your body, even if you havent presented symptoms anytime soon if ever. This is a great way to get checked even if you only want to have peace of mind knowing exactly what you are up against.
A Polymerase Chain Reaction examination may be called for as well. A copy of your DNA from a sample of your blood, a sample of body tissue from an open sore, or a collection of your spinal fluid will be examined to better understand whether or not you are dealing with the HSV virus as well.
All of these tests can provide you with conclusive results with very little confusion about your situation moving forward.
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How To Protect Yourself From Herpes
Aside from not having sex, there is no 100% effective way to prevent herpes. You can reduce the risk of contracting the infection by using a condom, but even a condom is not foolproof, as the virus can be transmitted even if your partner has no visible sores.
That said, if you or your partner has herpes, taking antiviral medications can significantly reduce the chances of transmission.
If you exhibit any of the symptoms of genital herpes, such as cracked, red sores around your genitals or rectum, ask your doctor for a blood test to detect HSV antibodies. Even if you test negative, regular STI screening is important for anyone who is sexually active, and free and low-cost testing resources can be found on the CDC’s website.
Herpa Greens Herpes Vaccine Formula
The key to the HerpaGreens formula, according to the researchers, is an organic blend of 57 cleansing herbs, grade A nutrients, prebiotics, probiotics, and specific vitamins. These include a superfood, antioxidant, and mushroom blend, a nutrient-dense herb and plant extracts blend, prebiotic fiber and digestive enzyme complex, and a probiotic blend.
The superfood, antioxidant, and mushroom blend contains quercetin sources such as asparagus, broccoli, green bell pepper, kale, and orange resveratrol sources, such as blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, and concord grapes antioxidant sources, such as apricot, beet-root, cabbage, camu camu, cauliflower, cherry, cucumber, coconut juice, organic banana, parsley, pineapple, spirulina, spinach, tomato, and wheatgrass and also a blend of maitake, reishi, and shiitake Mushrooms.
The nutrient-dense herb and plant extracts blend contain sources of curcumin such as turmeric root, nutrient-dense acacia gum, and other herbs and extracts like acerola cherry extract, ashwagandha root, cinnamon bark, eleuthero root, ginseng root, ginger root, green tea leaf, mangosteen extract, and stevia leaf extract.
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New Approach Offers Chance To Finally Kill Herpes
By Maggie Fox, Health, Science Editor
4 Min Read
WASHINGTON – U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday they may have found a way to flush out herpes viruses from hiding — offering a potential way to cure pesky and painful conditions from cold sores to shingles.
They discovered that a mysterious gene carried by the herpes simplex-1 virus — the one that causes cold sores — allows the virus to lay low in the nerves it infects.
It does so via microRNAs, little pieces of genetic material that regulate the activity of many viruses, the researchers report in the journal Nature.
It may be possible to wake up the virus and then kill it with standard antiviral drugs such as acyclovir, said Jennifer Lin Umbach of Duke University in North Carolina, who worked on the study.
We are trying to go into animal trials, Umbach said in a telephone interview.
The Duke team is discussing a potential collaboration with Regulus Therapeutics LLC, a joint venture between Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc that specializes in microRNAs.
Herpes viruses cause permanent infections. They head straight to nerve cells, where they stay latent for the life of an animal or person, often causing periodic outbreaks.
Herpes simplex 1 or HSV-1 causes cold sores, HSV-2 causes genital herpes, while varicella causes chicken pox and returns in middle or old age as herpes zoster to cause shingles.
Acyclovir and related drugs can suppress symptoms but only when the virus is active.
Histological Morphology And Immunohistochemistry
Vaginal and vulvar paraffin sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin to assess the pathological changes. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the infiltration of immune cells. Tissue sections were dewaxed, hydrated, antigen repaired, membrane permeated, and sealed. After incubating with primary antibodies against CD4, CD8, CD11c, and CD161 and secondary antibody successively, the tissue sections were stained, restained, differentiated, dehydrated, cleared, sealed, and photographed for analysis.
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Challenges Towards Developing A Herpes Cure
As with many other viruses that affect a large percentage of the world population, research is ongoing into potential cures for herpes.
However, there are a variety of challenges that make developing a permanent cure for herpes a difficult process. The first is the fact that scientists still dont completely understand the mechanism by which the herpes virus activates itself within the body.
For example, even a recent 2016 study of the microRNA expression of patients infected with herpes zoster notes that the specific mechanism of virus reactivation and latency remains unknown.
Antiviral drugs such as valacyclovir, which is commonly used to treat herpes, work by stopping viral DNA synthesis and halting the spread of the herpes virus. However, eliminating the virus from the body is a completely separate process that requires a larger amount of research.
The second challenge in creating a herpes cure is the incredible amount of time required not only to work out how to cure the virus, but also to prove that a potential cure is safe for use in humans on a mass scale.
Diet For Herpes Sufferers: Best And Worst Foods To Eat If You Have Herpes
2022-04-15 by S. Bell
If you are interested in the diet for herpes sufferers, you can learn about it in this article because I include information about the best and worst foods to eat.
This article is divided into four parts. The first three are dedicated to the foods that you should eat and those that you should not include in your diet according to their lysine and arginine content.
The fourth part contains a group of dietary recommendations that will help you in your diet to avoid herpes outbreaks.
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The Science Behind The Hunt For A Herpes Cure
Wilder: I read that you started thinking up a possible cure for herpes around 10 years ago.
Jerome: Well, that was when I first became aware of what today has become an area of research that we call gene editing. A lot of your readers may have heard of a particular type of gene editing protein called CRISPR. Its made a lot of news over the past two or three years — including the lay press, not just the scientific literature. But, actually, CRISPR is only one type of protein for gene editing. There are other types, as well.
When I first became aware of that, I realized that gene editing proteins have the unique capability of very specifically looking for the DNAthe stuff of lifeof, in this case, a virus, and ignore everything else. I realized that gene editing proteins could actually find an infectionwhether it was HIV, herpes, or hepatitis Bdestroy that DNA, and leave the rest of the body alone.
Remember that these sleeping viruses that I mentioned are long-lived forms of DNA within the body. So if we could destroy the viruses in a very selective manner, we might have a possibility to think about cure.
Wilder: As you mentioned, the current drugs that are prescribed dont get rid of the latent virus. What is it about this virus that makes it so challenging to eliminate?
Jerome: Once the virus goes to sleep in the nerve cells, it coils itself up into a little circle. In a lot of ways, that little circle looks a lot like our own DNA.