Therapy of experimental herpes simplex encephalitis with aciclovir in mice.
This report is concerned with the capacities of aciclovir to protect mice challenged intracerebrally with multiple lethal doses of type 1 herpes simplex virus and to control multiplication of this virus in the brain. With treatment initiated 12 h after inoculation and continued for 4 consecutive days, aciclovir administered subcutaneously in daily doses ranging from 40 to 100 mg/kg led to 21-day survival rates of from 33 to 73% and reduced virus titers by 1 to (1/2) x 4 logs on postchallenge day 8. The therapeutic accomplishments of the 100-mg/kg doses of aciclovir were comparable to those of 1,000-mg/kg doses of vidarabine (9-beta-d-arabinofuranosyladenine); however, as measured by impact on body weight, aciclovir was better tolerated than vidarabine at these similarly effective doses.
D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000382:microbiology; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D006151:Guanosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D014740:Vidarabine / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D006151:Guanosine; D014740:Vidarabine