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posted by martyb on Wednesday August 19 2020, @08:05AM   Printer-friendly
from the measure-once,-cut-twice dept.

According to a study published August 18th in Nature Communications, a new gene therapy approach eliminates over 90% of latent herpes simplex 1 virus (HSV-1, also known as oral herpes) in animal models.

Two-thirds of the world population under the age of 50 have HSV-1, according to the World Health Organization. The infection primarily causes cold sores and is lifelong.

In the study, the researchers used two types of genetic scissors to cut the DNA of the herpes virus. They found that when using just one pair of the scissors the virus DNA can be repaired in the infected cell. But by combining two scissors - two sets of gene-cutting proteins called meganucleases that zero in on and cut a segment of herpes DNA - the virus fell apart.

Using this approach...

researchers found a 92% reduction in the virus DNA present in the superior cervical ganglia, the nerve tissue where the virus lies dormant. The reductions remained for at least a month after the treatment and is enough the researchers say to keep the virus from reactivating.

The researchers are also pursuing using this approach to target herpes simplex 2 (genital herpes), although they indicate clinical trials are at least three years out.

Journal Reference:
Martine Aubert, Daniel E. Strongin, Pavitra Roychoudhury, et al. Gene editing and elimination of latent herpes simplex virus in vivo [open], Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17936-5)


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by NickM on Thursday August 20 2020, @02:54AM

    by NickM (2867) on Thursday August 20 2020, @02:54AM (#1039199) Journal

    Bell's palsy is not harmless and it can be caused by the endemic¹ HSV1.

    I speak from personal experience... About five years ago, this virus probably² flared and the inflammation progressively paralyzed one side of my face including the eyelids.

    The sequels are partly my fault tought. A misplaced machismo made me wait way to long before consulting a doctor. By the time I did, I had holes in my dry cornea and my facial nerve (CN VII) was so damaged that to this day, the affected eye is unable to properly lubricate itself unless I eat something that trigger the crocodile tears syndrome I got as a bonus.

    The moral of this story is if something intensely hurt for more than 24hr, don't try to tought it out and see a doctor!

    1- According to the WHO an estimated 3.7 billion people under age 50 (67%) have HSV-1 infection globally.
    2- I cannot know, the antivirals helped but I tested negative for HSV but that negative result doesn't exclude a viral reservoir in my brain...

    --
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