The objectives of the contract are to continue to test several antiviral therapies for effectiveness against localized herpes zoster in immune competent hosts. The annual incidence of herpes zoster is 3.4 cases per 1,000 individuals. In the normal host it is not life-threatening but 40% of patients over 50 years old suffer from a debilitating post-herpectic neuralgia. Therefore the development of an effective course of therapy which does not involve hospitalization is highly desirable. The three orally administered therapies that will be tested in this placebo-controlled double-blind trial are acyclovir, a steroid, and a combination of acyclovir with a steroid. It will be determined whether any of the therapies have a significant beneficial influence on the duration, healing and severity of lesions or the associated neuritis and neuralgia. In addition the toxicities of the several therapies will be assessed and the host's immune response will be analyzed.
| Whitley, R J (1987) Approaches to therapy of viral infections. Adv Pediatr 34:89-110 |
