Why Dont We Already Have A Herpes Vaccine
The need for a genital herpes vaccine is immense, Greg Smith, an expert on herpes viruses, told InsideHook, given the diseases shocking prevalence, and its potential to upend lives.
Most estimates suggest that at least one in eight people in America have HSV-2, the herpes virus strain that usually causes genital herpes. About half of all Americans have HSV-1, which usually causes cold sores but can cause genital herpes if the virus enters the body through a mucous membrane, or a cut or abrasion in the skin, on or near a persons genitals rather than their mouth.
Once the virus enters our bodies, it sets up shop inside clusters of nerves on either side of the spine, where both our immune system and doctors wont chase it, for fear of damaging our central nervous system. The virus lays dormant for long stretches of time, then ventures back out into nearby skin and mucous membranes, again evading peoples immune systems and spreading. It is, in other words, a particularly clever and resilient bugger. Which is part of why over 80 years of vaccine and cure research have not been able to yield any tangible results.
My personal impression is that many people have kind of given up after so many failed attempts, Terri Warren, a nurse practitioner who runs a clinic dedicated to herpes treatment. So researchers and funders alike direct more attention to what they see as more promising fields.
Official Websites Of Herpa Greens & Herpesyl
- Herpesyl Official Website :
The recently reported study tested the two different herpes vaccine candidates RVx201 and RVx202 by administering them to guinea pigs either vaginally or intradermally. After a 28-day observation period, the researchers found that neither herpes vaccine candidate established latency in the guinea pigs. They also found that all of the guinea pigs survived to the end of the study without developing any HSV-2 related disease or adverse reactions. The study concludes that the two novel herpes vaccine candidates are safe in guinea pigs and hence should be tested for efficacy as a preventative and/or therapeutic herpes vaccine against genital herpes.
The lead author of the group, Jonathan Joyce, said that the results are encouraging and validate the need for continued testing and development of live-attenuated herpes vaccine candidates, which according to him, are historically underdeveloped herpes vaccine types for the treatment and prevention of genital herpes.
Hsv Pathogenesis And Replication
Replication is a multi-step process. Post-infection, HSV glycoproteins interact with and attach to the cell. The viral envelope then fuses with the cell membrane, releasing its contents into the cell. DNA is uncoated and transported into the nucleus when nucleocapsid fuses with the viral envelope . Here, immediate-early genes are transcribed . Primary herpes infection involves replication within epithelial cells, with an incubation period of 46 days. Mature virions are then transported to the cell membrane, where they are released, causing cell lysis and local inflammation. Replication continues until host immune responses contain the initial infection .
Herpesvirus ascends peripheral sensory nerves to spread to the trigeminal ganglion, where latent infection develops. Latent virus can be induced to reactivate. Reactivation has been associated with various stimuli including stress, infections, and UV light exposure. However, from a molecular standpoint, reactivation is a phenomenon that continues to be studied and is not clearly understood. Clinical manifestations of reactivation vary widely in terms of presentation and severity .
Also Check: What Is Herpes Simplex Virus 1
How Common Is Genital Herpes
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 40 million to 50 million adults in the United States have genital herpes. HSV II infection is more common in women and in people who have had more than five sexual partners. Most people with HSV II do not know they have it, because it does not always cause symptoms.
When Will There Be A Cure For Herpes
A member just asked us this question. We get asked will there be a herpes cure every day. It proves how successful the aciclovir marketing campaign was in the 1980s. The masterstroke was to call herpes incurable to make it seem important. This was a brilliant idea because it ensured the success of aciclovir. They put herpes on the map and it has never looked back!
What Humpty Dumpty said
Incurable is an Alice in Wonderland word. It can mean whatever you want it to mean. If you are diagnosed with terminal cancer, you have something that is genuinely incurable and you are going to die. If you have a bad cold, you have an infection that medical professionals call incurable because there is nothing that they can prescribe for you that is going to make the cold go away more quickly. Cold sores and genital herpes are not incurable because symptoms go away by themselves without treatment. If herpes was incurable, the sores would never go away.
In fact, for most people, the virus is so well controlled that they dont even notice enough to realise that they have caught anything at all, so they are not even diagnosed. What the drug companys marketing campaign was capitalising on was the ability of the herpes simplex virus to hide in the body and sometimes cause more symptoms later. They could have called it clever, but that doesnt sound scary.
Its a strategy
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Herpes’ Commute Into Nervous System Is Aided By A Sinister Trick
- Date:
- Northwestern University
- Summary:
- More than half of U.S. adults are carriers of HSV1 which hibernates in the peripheral nervous system and can never be eradicated. A new study has uncovered herpes’ sneaky strategy for infecting the nervous system, opening a door to long-needed vaccine development for both HSV1 and its close sibling HSV2.
Herpes type 1 is sealed with a kiss for a lifetime. More than half of U.S. adults are carriers of HSV1 which hibernates in the peripheral nervous system and can never be eradicated.
A new Northwestern Medicine study has uncovered the virus’s sneaky strategy for infecting the nervous system, opening a path to long-needed vaccine development for both HSV1 and its close sibling HSV2.
Some carriers will never even experience so much as a cold sore from HSV1. But for others, it can cause blindness or life-threatening encephalitis. There is increasing evidence it contributes to dementia.
And HSV2, which is more commonly transmitted via sexual contact, can be passed from a mother to newborn during the birthing process asneonatal herpes, appearing as lesions all over the body of the infant. Most babies recover, but in the worst cases, it can cause brain damage or disseminate through all the organs and be lethal.
“We desperately need a vaccine to prevent herpes from invading the nervous system,” said Greg Smith, professor of microbiology and immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Riding the rails
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Will There Be A Cure For Herpes With Crispr
A CRISPR herpes cure is possible, but not anytime soon.
In December 2019, scientists from Harvard Medical School successfully disrupted the herpes simplex virus for the first time and identified weak spots where the virus may be susceptible to gene editing. However, that accomplishment is only the beginning of the process for a CRISPR herpes cure.
As explained by study lead investigator David Knipe, This is an exciting first stepone that suggests it is possible to permanently silence lifelong infectionsbut much more work remains to be done.
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Where Herpes Vaccine Research Stands
Although some vaccines for these herpes types have initially appeared to have promise, stringent testing has shown them to be no better than a sham vaccine, or placebo.
With that said, newer approaches to vaccine developmentincluding genetic editinghave begun to show promise in early-stage animal research, offering a glimpse of hope of a possible breakthrough.
How Does Genital Herpes Spread
Herpes can be spread when an infected person has lesions blisters and open sores on their body or when you do not have any symptoms. Taking antiviral medicine can help you reduce the risk of spreading genital herpes to your sexual partners. You can also:
- Inform your sexual partner that you have genital herpes.
- Use a condom every time you have sex.
- Refrain from having sex when you have symptoms.
- Abstain from performing oral sex if you have blisters or open sores around your mouth.
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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.
Cure For Oral Herpes Is Around The Corner New Study Shows
A team of researchers in Seattle believe theyve found a cure for oral herpes, the virus that causes painful cold sores for 10 million Americans.
And their discovery also could pave the way to eradicating genital herpes, they believe.
Scientists at the Fred Hutchinson cancer center in Seattle have succeeded in eliminating 90% of the virus through gene therapy, or what team leader Dr. Keith Jerome described as gene editing, according to their findings, which were published Tuesday in Nature Communications.
A lot of smart scientists have been really hesitant to think about a cure. To them, a cure was like selling snake oil. It just wasnt a realistic goal, Jerome told The Post. Now, theyre talking about a cure.
The researchers used tiny enzymes, transported through the body in harmless viruses, to cut the herpes DNA, Jerome told The Post.
When the virologists team launched experiments a decade ago on infected mice, they used only one kind of enzyme and discovered that sliced genes could heal themselves.
Over the years, they found that combinations of enzymes molecular scissors, as Jerome called them could rip the herpes virus to shreds and prevent it from regenerating.
For infectious disease expert Anthony Nicola, an ex-Brooklynite who does research at Washington State University in Pullman, the success of Jeromes gene therapy is nothing short of a medical breakthrough.
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The Herpes Virus Is Extremely Complicated
According to Dr. Anna Wald, the head of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Division at the School of Medicine at the University of Washington, herpes is just one of many sexually transmitted viruses that scientists don’t fully understand.
“We dont have a cure for a lot of things,” she says, citing HIV and hepatitis as other examples.
Most viruses attack our cells and attempt to multiply as soon as they enter our bodies. In response, our immune system releases white blood cells and antibodies to neutralize the virus and make it less harmful. Often, our immune systems can clear viruses out of our bodies, meaning we’re no longer infected.
But herpes is more complicated than that, says Wald. Herpes “has figured out how to live in the host despite the immune response,” she explains.
Unlike other viruses, herpes hides in the central nervous system, and our immune system can’t easily access this area of our bodies, Wald says. To make things even more complicated, the virus can lie dormant in our central nervous systems for an extended period of time .
As for therapeutic vaccines, they would have to be significantly better than current antiviral medications are at reducing the likelihood of transmission and outbreaks, says Dr. Hunter Hansfield, Professor Emeritus of Medicine, University of Washington Center for AIDS and STDs. Fortunately, current antiviral medications can already reduce the recurrence of outbreaks by about 70 percent, according to American Family Physician.
A Masterclass In Scientific Crowdfunding
About a decade ago, inspired by the success entertainers found on early crowdfunding platforms in their efforts to support projects too unconventional or niche to receive traditional funding, a handful of hopeful researchers and entrepreneurs created a small ecosystem of sites exclusively for scientists. The idea being that these researchers could use crowdfunding as an alternative source of revenue, to get projects off the ground or carry them through rough patches until they could attract the attention of bigger funders. These new platforms were supposed to benefit early-career researchers, and people pursuing audacious or hard-to-sell ideas especially. As an added bonus, they would ideally increase public engagement in the complete scientific process.
These lofty aspirations never amounted to much. A recent review of research crowdfunding found that most campaigns only raised a few thousand dollars at most. The greatest success stories coming out of these platforms involved established researchers raising $10,000s. And the most successful campaigns generally involved a ton of effort who proactively built ties with small circles of people affected by whatever they were studying. This is why scientific research crowdfunding is still relatively rare and likely why the University of Pennsylvania initially balked when Friedman put the Redditors offer on the table.
So how did the Redditors who reached out to Friedman buck this trend of tepid outcomes?
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Will We Ever Get A Herpes Vaccine
Not for a long time, at least: at the moment, there are no promising clinical trials underway for a herpes vaccine.
Hansfield believes it’s unlikely that researchers could soon develop a herpes vaccine that would totally eliminate the virus from someone’s system.
As for a preventive vaccine, “I would be surprised if there was a HSV vaccine on the market that prevents herpes in under 10 years,” he says.
What Is Herpes Simplex Virus
There are two different kinds of Herpes Simplex Virus : Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 and Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 . HSV-1 mainly causes oral herpes, which results in cold sores and fever blisters around the mouth and on the face. Whilst HSV-2 mostly causes genital herpes which results in sores around the rectum or genitals. It may also occur in other locations, but the locality of the sores is mainly below the waist. HSV-2 is almost always transmitted through genital-to-genital contact during sex. Both HSV-1 and HSV-2 can be asymptomatic due to which they remain unrecognized amongst individuals but sometimes it may cause symptoms of painful blisters or ulcers at the site of infection.
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Use The Luminance Red
The Luminance RED is a breakthrough cold sore treatment that harnesses powerful light technology to shorten healing time and decrease the frequency of new outbreaks.
This FDA-registered device nourishes the skin with red light, which is metabolized to accelerate the bodys healing process and strengthen its defenses against future attacks. Regular use of the Luminance RED not only shortens the healing time of active outbreaks, but it can prevent future outbreaks altogether!
The Luminance RED was designed with ideal wavelength and irradiance specifications to maximize efficiency in treating and preventing cold sore outbreaks. Thanks to the Luminance RED, light therapy has become one of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent unwanted cold sore and genital herpes outbreaks.
Can Genital Herpes Be Treated
Your physician can prescribe different medications to help reduce your symptoms and speed up the healing of an outbreak. These medicines work best when you start them soon after an outbreak occurs.
To reduce pain during an outbreak:
- Sit in warm water in a portable bath or bathtub for about 20 minutes. Avoid bubble baths.
- Keep your genital area clean and dry, and avoid tight clothes.
- Take over-the-counter medications, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Avoid aspirin.
Let your physician know if you are worried about your genital herpes. He or she can recommend a support group to help you cope with the virus.
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I Had Lesions When I Was Evaluated But My Culture Was Negative Does This Mean That I Dont Have Herpes
Not necessarily. Although lesions can be caused by something other than herpes, false negative herpes tests can occur if the samples are not taken appropriately, if there is a long transport time between the clinic and the laboratory, or if cultures were taken late in the course of the lesions. Lesions that occur early in the course of a herpes outbreak are much more likely to have positive cultures than cultures taken after the lesions crust over.
New Drug May Be A Cure For Both Covid
ATLANTA, Ga. Scientists have developed a drug that could be an antiviral cure for both sexually transmitted infections and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In animal experiments, researchers discovered that a medication that mimics immune system proteins successfully treats herpes. The small synthetic molecule may also defeat the coronavirus and many other kinds of infections. The stable peptoid is harder to break down that the real thing.
The team suggests that doctors could give such a treatment to airline passengers before a flight to protect them from COVID. Scientists expect clinical trials to begin within months. Vaccines alone wont overcome the pandemic, making anti-viral therapies just as vital.
In the body, antimicrobial peptides such as LL-37 help keep viruses, bacteria, fungi, cancer cells and even parasites under control, says principal investigator Dr. Annelise Barron of Stanford University in a media release.
These substances are not usually ideal drug candidates as they are quickly cleared by enzymes in the body. With that in mind, study authors emulated the key biophysical attributes of LL-37.
Peptoids are easy to make, Barron says. And unlike peptides, theyre not rapidly degraded by enzymes, so they could be used at a much lower dose.
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