Cerebrospinal fluid samples from 257 patients with suspected herpes simplex virus encephalitis were prospectively analyzed by herpes simplex virus polymerase chain reaction. The polymerase chain reaction indicated herpes simplex virus encephalitis in 9 serologically proven cases and in 14 additional patients. Increased polymerase chain reaction signals were observed together with more severe ne...

(E)-5-(2-Bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine is a potent antiherpes compound with far better activity against herpes simplex virus type 1 than type 2. To understand the role of drug metabolism in this differential antiviral activity, we examined the metabolic fate of this drug in virus-infected and mock-infected Vero cells by high-pressure liquid chromatography. After 8 h of incubation in which cells w...

Rabbit eyes experimentally infected with either type 1 or type 2 herpes simplex viruses occasionally released virus spontaneously. Injection of adrenalin was not highly effective for stimulating virus release but did seem to have a slight and erratic activating capacity. No spontaneous virus release were detected from the eyes of six cats infected with cat herpesvirus, but, when adrenalin was a...

The indirect immunoperoxidase method was applied to the rapid diagnosis of mucocutaneous herpes simplex virus infection. Specimens were obtained directly from lesions at various stages in their evolution. The immunoperoxidase method identified herpes simplex virus-infected cells in 91% of vesicular lesions which were positive by standard virological culture. At later stages, the number of cases...

Cell-mediated immunity to fibroblasts transformed by herpes simplex virus type 2 was investigated with a lymphocyte assay system. The assay system was first standardized with phytohemagglutinin, a nonspecific stimulator of blastogenesis. Hamster splenic and blood lymphocytes reacted to phytohemagglutinin with a dose-response curve similar to that reported for other rodent species. Splenic lymph...

Adenosine monophosphate pretreatment of mice with latent herpes simplex virus type 1 infections significantly reduced the rate of reactivation of latent virus. Adenosine monophosphate pretreatment did not, however, eradicate latent virus.

AMP was evaluated for its efficacy against herpes simplex virus type 2 genital infections in guinea pigs. Vaginally infected animals were treated twice a day with AMP at 50 mg/kg per dose for 2 weeks. Subcutaneous doses were started 10 weeks postinfection. AMP treatment did not reduce the number of animals with recrudescent episodes when compared with saline-treated controls. In addition, AMP t...

Cell-mediated immunity to fibroblasts transformed by herpes simplex virus type 2 was investigated with a lymphocyte assay system. The assay system was first standardized with phytohemagglutinin, a nonspecific stimulator of blastogenesis. Ham ster splenic and blood lymphocytes reacted to phytohemagglutinin with a dose-response curve similar to that reported for other rodent species. Splenic lymp...

Although herpes zoster is not a reportable condition in the United States, its incidence has been inferred from a variety of studies to range from 3.2 to 4.2 per 1,000 patient-years. This incidence translates into an estimated 1 million cases of herpes zoster annually. Overall, an estimated 32% of persons in the United States will have herpes zoster during their lifetimes. In a recent populatio...