Clinical effects and in vitro studies of trifluorothymidine combined with interferon-alpha for treatment of drug-resistant and -sensitive herpes simplex virus infections.
Author(s): Birch CJ, Tyssen DP, Tachedjian G, Doherty R, Hayes K, Mijch A, Lucas CR
Affiliation(s): Virology Department, Macfarlane Burnet Centre for Medical Research, Fairfield Hospital, Australia.
Publication date & source: 1992-07, J Infect Dis., 166(1):108-12.
Publication type: Case Reports
Three AIDS patients with severe cutaneous herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection refractory to therapy with acyclovir and foscarnet (2 patients) were treated with a topical preparation of trifluorothymidine (TFT) and interferon-alpha. Complete healing of lesions occurred in 1 patient; a second had significant regression of the infected area. In the third, the lesion was stabilized twice after application of the preparation and reduced in size after a subsequent treatment. In vitro studies confirmed that isolates from these patients were acyclovir- or acyclovir/foscarnet-resistant. In addition, they revealed strong synergy between TFT and interferon-alpha for these isolates and for strains with wild-type drug sensitivity profiles. Topical TFT/interferon-alpha may be of benefit in the therapy of mucocutaneous HSV infections, especially when they are resistant to treatment with systemic antiviral agents.
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