# Herpes (HSV) Cure? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 14, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722 "2012-04-14T00:37:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![heyheyhey06](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/34f0e0/32.png) [@heyheyhey06](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heyheyhey06)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/21 "2012-07-05T20:40:50Z")
That makes sense. Thanks for the reply. Isn’t it the case though that any kind of virus is going to be looked at skeptically as it pertains to research and development, especially herpes? I can’t imagine Dr. Cullen is making claim of progression without anything to back it up. Or maybe he is. From the Cullen lab website: "2) Have you developed a new treatment for cold sores? The work we have performed provides a basis for the development of anti-HSV-1 and anti-HSV-2 drugs that might be able to permanently clear these viruses from patients." This is a pretty bold statement, no? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/22 "2012-07-05T20:58:53Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I wonder if, someday, Borg-style nanobots could be programmed to destroy HSV wherever they find it in you? Side effects may include; Hive Mind constipation headache flatulence loss of life changes in vision Lack of emotion Sudden eruption of hardware from the face and arms ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/23 "2012-07-05T21:04:09Z")
Such statements are practically boilerplate, and really don’t say much. Let’s parse it carefully. “The work we have performed provides a basis for the development of anti-HSV-1 and anti-HSV-2 drugs.” OK, the lab has done a considerable amount of basic research, and they have a pretty solid publication record. Any basic disease research that adds to scientific knowledge can “provide a basis for the development of drugs”. Then, they say their entirely hypothetical drugs “ **might** be able to permanently clear these viruses from patients” (bolding mine). No promises there. The “permanent” bit is intriguing, though without further reading I can’t evaluate that specifically. Any lab that does basic research relating to human diseases can honestly make a similar statement. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/24 "2012-07-05T21:40:33Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I use prescription Valtrex for my occasional cold sore eruptions, and it’s worked wonders for me. > > I wonder if, someday, Borg-style nanobots could be programmed to destroy HSV wherever they find it in you? Treatments I have found that work well to quiet an eruption are acyclovir (a prescription), hydrocortisone cream (a topical OTC at 1% or less solution), and Curasore (OTC, the cheapest but one of the best. It con tains ether in solution.) A few years ago I took part in a clinical study concerning a new tx for “cold” sores. I took either hydrocortisone, acyclovir, a new medicine, a combination of medicines, or a placebo). I had to report the stages of the sore once tx began. It took only a few days for the sore to completely disappear. I was never told what I applied, but I suspect it was hydrocortisone, as I get similar results with that. Once I was enthralled with Curasore,but It tends to leave a very dried up area for a while, and hydrocortisone is as cheap. Acyclovir, which I once took (with a prescription from a dentist) was no better and much more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![heyheyhey06](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/34f0e0/32.png) [@heyheyhey06](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heyheyhey06)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/25 "2012-07-05T22:58:09Z")
Yea, I definitely see the generality of that statement regarding a permanent cure. I would just hope that a doctor with integrity wouldn’t just dangle that out there to solicite money. The optimistic side of me says there is hope based on how fast we advance scientifically these days. I’m not sure what the realistic side of me says just yet. ---
**Author:** ![heyheyhey06](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/34f0e0/32.png) [@heyheyhey06](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heyheyhey06)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/26 "2012-07-06T03:04:15Z")
Also, whatever happened to this vaccine back in 2006 > **[One-day fight against herpes](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-aug-14-he-herpes14-story.html)** > > New regimens can stop cold sore or genital outbreaks sooner. Next: potentially, a vaccine. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/27 "2012-07-06T04:23:40Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > Treatments I have found that work well to quiet an eruption are acyclovir (a prescription), hydrocortisone cream (a topical OTC at 1% or less solution) . . . Um, hydrocortisone is an immuno_suppresant_. That is, it shuts down the immune system. It’s used topically to decrease itching and swelling from bug bites, rashes, and other skin conditions. Itching and swelling are immune system reactions to proteins like mosquito saliva, urushiol (the stuff that makes poison ivy poison), and atopic eczema (which is an autoimmune disease). You’re actually _helping_ the herpes virus when you put hydrocortisone on an outbreak. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/28 "2012-07-06T07:04:43Z")
Most effective antivirals are some sort of nucleotide analogue - molecules that look (chemically) like one of the nucleotides that make up DNA (or the RNA analogues) but block DNA replication by not allowing chaining by viral DNA/RNA polymerase. They work by stopping viral DNA replication, so replication is interfered with. However, to be effective, the virus has to be replicating. For HSV, during the latent phase, there is little viral replication and drugs like acyclovir have no impact. Some people with compromised immune systems or a continual cycle of HSV outbreaks are given ongoing Acyclovir treatment to catch the virus at the stage where it becomes active. Also, the particular nucleotide analogue/enzyme target is important, too. I take a daily antiviral for a chronic Hepatitis B infection (a reverse transcriptase inhibitor, the same as used to treat HIV). It has no impact on HSV (or [rhinoviruses](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinovirus), sadly). Si ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/29 "2012-07-06T09:10:01Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > Um, hydrocortisone is an immuno_suppresant_. That is, it shuts down the immune system. It’s used topically to decrease itching and swelling from bug bites, rashes, and other skin conditions. Itching and swelling are immune system reactions to proteins like mosquito saliva, urushiol (the stuff that makes poison ivy poison), and atopic eczema (which is an autoimmune disease). > > You’re actually _helping_ the herpes virus when you put hydrocortisone on an outbreak. Cortisone is an anti-inflammatory. True that it is an immunosuppressant, but the little I use does not significantly interfere with the immune system. It does, however, stop the inflammation. I did read years ago that it was contraindicatory for cold sores (probably for that reason), but I find it is very effective for cold sores. (Hydrocortisone was one of the treatments in the clinical study in which I participated in.) Curasore contains ether which kills the virus, but topically it kills only the surface and near the skin virus; wheras, acyclovir attacks the virus more deeply. Symptomatically, in my experience, they’re about equal. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/30 "2012-07-06T20:06:07Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > That’s what they do, that’s why you have the manifestations when the virus reactivates. But the virus then goes back to stealth hiding mode, and becomes undetected again. That’s why my Bell’s Palsy errupts every 5 years or so… and there is no cure. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/31 "2012-07-07T04:03:36Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Side effects may include; > > Hive Mind > constipation > headache > flatulence > loss of life > changes in vision > Lack of emotion > Sudden eruption of hardware from the face and arms Well, sure, at first - but they’d work out the bugs before human testing, right…? RIGHT?!?!?!? ---
**Author:** ![ivory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@ivory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivory)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/32 "2012-08-20T17:52:11Z")
Chinese scientists at Florida university cured hepatitis C infections in mices and cell cultures completely. They’re using rna interference technology, wich is, -by my opinion- the only possible cure for herpes. It doesn’t attack cells, it attacks and destroys mRNA, used to reproduce viral proteins in cells. It is called nanozime. This is a fairly new technology, (the mRNA interference phenomenon was firs observed in the 90’s in petunias) and it can be very dangerous, but there was no side effects or any kind of immune response to the drug in the research subjects. Even if it takes years to perfect this kind of drugs, I strongly belive that this is the most promising stuff that will help people fight against viruses in the near future. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/33 "2012-08-20T18:08:27Z")
> [@ivory](#): > > Chinese scientists at Florida university cured hepatitis C infections in mices and cell cultures completely. They’re using rna interference technology, wich is, -by my opinion- the only possible cure for herpes. It doesn’t attack cells, it attacks and destroys mRNA, used to reproduce viral proteins in cells. It is called nanozime. > This is a fairly new technology, (the mRNA interference phenomenon was firs observed in the 90’s in petunias) and it can be very dangerous, but there was no side effects or any kind of immune response to the drug in the research subjects. Even if it takes years to perfect this kind of drugs, I strongly belive that this is the most promising stuff that will help people fight against viruses in the near future. “Nanozime” should be “nanozyme,” for anyone trying to find information on this. And on that note, I found the [study in question](http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/07/09/1207766109), performed at the [University of Florida](http://news.ufl.edu/2012/07/16/nanobot/). Saying it had no side effects in the “research subjects” is not an accurate statement, though, as it was tested in cultured human and mouse cells, not in living subjects, as far as I can tell. It is way too early to be confidently predicting this will destroy hep C in a living human subject reliably, much less extrapolating to the rather different herpes virus. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/34 "2012-08-20T21:19:45Z")
We currently get cure rates in humans of about 40% to 80% with a variety of treatments at present, combinations of ribavirin, pegylated interferon, and (for genotype 1 viral infections) a protease inhibitor like teleprevir or ritonavir. Hepatitis C is the only virus in humans that we are presently able to actually cure, or eradicate from the body. ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/36 "2013-04-20T05:58:13Z")
Reported ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/37 "2013-04-20T11:45:17Z")
:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/38 "2013-04-20T15:07:28Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > :rolleyes: Heh, was there a spam post that got deleted or are you snarking on an old thread? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/39 "2013-04-20T16:48:59Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > Heh, was there a spam post that got deleted or are you snarking on an old thread? Spam got deleted. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/40 "2013-04-20T23:10:33Z")
Spam, or the startling revelation that herpes infection can be permanently cured by taking the right cocktail of herbs, depending on your point of view. ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722/41 "2013-04-21T05:24:31Z")
Has everyone stopped looking for a cure? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herpes-hsv-cure/618722.md?page=3)