Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 6, 1990 TAG: 9006060556
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: CHARLES HITE MEDICAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Researchers hope the drug not only will have fewer side effects than the medication now commonly used to treat shingles but also will reduce the chronic pain that often follows the disease.
Shingles, known medically as herpes zoster, is an inflammatory infection of nerves that produces painful blisters on the skin.
Caused by the same virus responsible for chicken pox, it is usually seen in persons over 50. An estimated 300,000 Americans are affected each year.
"Our biggest problem is finding people to test," said Dr. Charles Schleupner, an infectious disease specialist who is heading the research at the Salem VA Center.
Schleupner is seeking patients who, within 72 hours of showing signs of shingles, will volunteer to become part of the study. All treatment will be free and patients will receive a small fee for participating.
Until recently, treatment for shingles was limited to temporary relief or reductions of symptoms. Over the last few years, physicians have been using an antiviral drug originally developed to treat genital herpes to treat shingles also.
The drug - acyclovir - works by blocking the replication of the virus causing shingles. The problem, Schleupner said, is that the drug has to be given in high doses and sometimes causes side effects. The most serious complication, he said, is a drop in the white blood count.
The drug being tested at the VA and 24 other medical centers across the country also is an antiviral agent. Preliminary studies in the test tube show the drug is a thousand times more active than acyclovir in fighting the virus, Schleupner said. The new drug is known as BVAU.
Shingles can be especially dangerous for patients who have weakened immune systems. These patients can develop widespread infections that become life-threatening. Shingles can spread over their entire bodies and to internal organs, including the lungs and brain.
As many as 10 percent of children with leukemia and 52 percent of patients with Hodgkin's disease may get shingles. Patients with AIDS and those undergoing immune-suppressing therapy, including radiation treatment and anticancer drugs, also are at special risk.
About 90 percent of the U.S. population is believed to have had chicken pox. In most people, the virus remains inactive, since the immune system keeps the virus in check. The virus retreats to nerve cells, eventually hiding around the spine or in one of several groups of nerve cells called ganglia.
In 10 to 20 percent of the population, however, the virus becomes active again. When the virus - known as varicella-zoster - begins to reproduce, it moves along the nerve to the skin. The first symptom of shingles often is pain or an abnormal sensation in a major nerve.
Some people also experience fever, headache, nausea or general discomfort. Within days of these symptoms, the skin near the affected nerve develops a band of blisters. This rash is usually found on only one side of the body. Typically, the rash begins on one side of the back and wraps around to the chest or abdomen.
The rash can last from a few days to six weeks. Pain, one of the most common complaints for people with shingles, can persist for weeks or months.
Up to 50 percent of shingles patients may have pain persist for a month or longer after the rash heals. Part of his study, Schleupner said, is to test whether BVAU reduces or eliminates this long-term pain. Persons interested in volunteering for the study can call 982-2463, extension 2375.
by CNB