Source: Med Page Today
“Treating herpes has no effect on the transmission of HIV among discordant couples, researchers said.
The lack of efficacy was found in a large, randomized clinical trial despite significant reductions in HIV viral load among those treated for herpes simplex-2 (HSV-2), according to Connie Celum, MD, of the University of Washington, and colleagues.
Researchers will have to look for new ways to prevent transmission among discordant couples (in which one partner has HIV and the other does not), Celum and colleagues concluded online in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study comes after earlier trials also showed that treating HSV-2 with the antiviral acyclovir (Zovirax) did not lower the risk of getting HIV. (See Herpes Treatment No Help in Preventing HIV)
The trials — and the current study — had their origins in epidemiological and laboratory observations that having an HSV-2 infection increased the risk of contracting HIV.
Researchers reasoned that a converse effect might also be true — treating HSV-2 in HIV-negative people might reduce their risk of infection.”
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