Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0022568 (keratitis)
 5,133 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Acyclovir (aciclovir) is a nucleoside analogue antiviral drug related to cytarabine, idoxuridine, trifluridine and vidarabine. In common with these earlier antivirals, acyclovir is active against some members of the herpesvirus group of DNA viruses. The efficacy of topical acyclovir has been convincingly demonstrated in ocular herpetic keratitis, and in initial and primary initial genital herpes infection, but little or no clinical benefit was seen when non-primary initial genital infections were assessed separately. Acyclovir ointment demonstrated little benefit in recurrent genital herpes but topical acyclovir cream decreased the course of the infection by 1 to 2 days. Orally and intravenously administered acyclovir were beneficial in initial genital herpes infections, and oral therapy shortened the duration of recurrent infections by 1 to 2 days but did not ameliorate pain. In non-immunocompromised patients with recurrent herpes simplex labialis, generally little clinical benefit was seen with the use of topical acyclovir ointment even when therapy was initiated during the prodromal phase, while topical acyclovir cream effected small but significant improvements in the clinical but not the symptomological course of the disease. However, in immunocompromised patients, both intravenous and topical acyclovir shortened the clinical course of herpes simplex virus infections occurring mainly on the lips, oral mucosa and face, and prophylaxis with either oral or intravenous acyclovir suppressed the appearance of recurrent lesions from latent virus for the period of drug administration, but acyclovir did not eradicate latent herpesviruses. In non-immunocompromised patients, intravenous acyclovir was shown to decrease the acute pain of zoster, especially in the elderly, but postherpetic neuralgia was not ameliorated. When immunocompromised patients were studied, intravenous acyclovir inhibited the progression of zoster infections and shortened the healing time and duration of viral shedding in patients with cutaneous disseminated zoster. However, acute and post-herpetic pain were not significantly affected. Well designed controlled studies are underway to establish the efficacy of acyclovir in herpes simplex encephalitis and cytomegalovirus infections in immunocompromised patients, infections due to Epstein-Barr virus, and neonatal herpesvirus infections. Despite some aspects of the drug's use which require further clarification, acyclovir will make a major impact on the treatment of herpesviral infections. Barring unexpected findings with wider clinical use, it will become the agent of choice in several conditions.
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PMID:Acyclovir. A review of its pharmacodynamic properties and therapeutic efficacy. 631 32

Acyclovir is an effective and relatively non-toxic antiviral agent which has recently been introduced for the treatment of herpes virus infections in man. When combined with dilute steroid, acyclovir heals herpetic disciform keratitis and preliminary results of a double-blind clinical trial suggest that it may be more effective and less toxic than adenine arabinoside in the treatment of this condition.
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PMID:Comparison of the efficacy and toxicity of acyclovir and of adenine arabinoside when combined with dilute betamethasone in herpetic disciform keratitis: preliminary results of a double-blind trial. 638 56

Masked controlled rabbit studies were done to determine the toxic effects on corneal wound healing of the antiviral ointments 0.5% idoxuridine, 3% Ara A, and 3% acyclovir, and the antiviral drops 0.1% idoxuridine, 3% Ara AMP, and 1% trifluridine. Ara A, acyclovir, trifluridine and idoxuridine drops had no significant effects on the rate of closure of epithelial wounds. Idoxuridine ointment given 5 times a day significantly retarded the rate of epithelial wound closure, but not when given 4 times a day. Only Ara AMP caused a retardation of epithelial healing and an actual increase in the defect after 4 days of treatment. Histopathologically all drugs, except acyclovir, showed a toxic effect on the regenerating epithelium. All drugs, except acyclovir, showed retarded stromal wound healing with reduced bursting strength and collagen content. Ara AMP had increased bursting strength and collagen content possibly because of greater inflammation. Acyclovir, in comparison to all the other medications studied, appeared to have minimal to no toxic effects on experimental epithelial and stromal wound healing, and on this basis is the agent of choice for use in herpes simplex stromal keratitis with ulceration and as a prophylactic agent for long-term use after penetrating keratoplasty.
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PMID:Antiviral medications and corneal wound healing. 647 19

Thirty patients randomized to the Acyclovir (ACV) group (26 with dendritic lesions, 4 geographic lesions) and 34 patients randomized to the idoxuridine (IDU) treatment group (26 dendritic lesions, 8 geographic lesions) with epithelial herpetic keratitis were evaluated for efficacy and adverse reactions in a multi-center, double-masked, randomized, stratified trial. Patients were treated with either 3% acyclovir ophthalmic ointment or 0.5% idoxuridine ophthalmic ointment five times a day for 14 days. The results of the trial indicated no significant difference between ACV and IDU as antiviral agents in the treatment of epithelial herpetic keratitis. The overall healing patterns of ACV and IDU adjusted for lesion type and prognostic factors, including presenting condition (initial or recurrent disease), duration of symptoms, prior ophthalmic steroid use, and positive pretreatment herpesvirus culture, as well as, the healing patterns within each lesion type adjusted for these factors, were not significantly different between the two treatment groups. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the frequency of development of deeper involvement. The only significant difference (P less than 0.01) in the frequency of development of adverse reactions was found in the incidence of development of superficial punctate epitheliopathy (IDU-42%, ACV-11%).
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PMID:A double-blind, multicenter clinical trial of acyclovir vs idoxuridine for treatment of epithelial herpes simplex keratitis. 676 30

Fourty-three eyes with active dendritic keratitis, nearly one third of which had failed to respond to other antiviral agents, were treated with acyclovir with or without preceding debridement. The patients were randomly selected. No statistical difference could be demonstrated between the 2 groups in terms of rate of healing or in efficacy of cure. Acyclovir also seemed to be effective in stromal corneal lesions. There were only minor side effects.
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PMID:Acyclovir in the treatment of herpetic keratitis. 676 Jun 57

The efficacy of Aciclovir and Trifluorothymidine (TFT) treatment was tested in a double blind trial of thirty-eight patients with dendritic keratitis. All twenty patients treated with Aciclovir healed within 10 days with an average healing time of 5.0 days. Two of the eighteen patients treated with TFT failed to heal within 22 days, the others healed within ten days, the average healing was 6.6 days. Punctate keratopathy was seen in 70% of both groups. Intense conjunctival hyperaemia developed in two TFT patients.
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PMID:Aciclovir and trifluorothymidine in herpetic keratitis. Preliminary report of a multicentered trial. 678 59

Antiherpetic activity of a new antiviral agent, Acyclovir (ACV), was compared with that of Idoxuridine (IDU) in the treatment of keratitis induced in rabbits by type I herpes simplex virus (HSV). After topical application for 5 days, both compounds were well tolerated, but ACV was significantly more effective than IDU. Virological tests demonstrated that virus multiplication continued for a shorter period in eyes treated with ACV than in those of controls, or of animals treated with IDU, but early viral regrowth was possible. Using two HSV markers, seroneutralization and thermal sensitivity of cell culture development, variations were observed in a rabbit treated with IDU and in a control animal also. Epithetial regeneration after treatment was assessed by optical microscopy and by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Epithelial scarring was observed to be almost complete in rabbits treated with IDU. The correlation between therapeutic, virological, and histological results in positive evidence for the use of ACV in HSV-induced ocular lesions.
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PMID:[Comparison of therapeutic activity of idoxuridine and acyclovir in experimentally-induced herpetic keratitis in rabbits (author's transl)]. 721 23

Although several drugs are available to treat superficial herpes simplex keratitis, viral latency and recurrences represent clinical challenges that have been inadequately addressed by current topical antiviral agents. One hundred and ninety patients with previous herpes simplex keratitis were entered in an open study to evaluate the efficacy of the prophylactic therapy of recurrence with Acyclovir (200 mg) four times daily for 1 month to 24 months. Forty patients were treated because of frequently recurring herpetic keratitis; 36 were treated during a short period because of known risk factors; 23 were treated after ocular surgery which needed topical corticosteroid therapy in the postoperative period and 91 patients were treated after penetrating keratoplasty for herpetic keratitis. The results of this study indicate that oral Acyclovir significantly lowered the incidence of recurrences of herpetic keratitis in selected patients.
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PMID:[Preventive treatment of herpetic keratitis with acyclovir tablets]. 848 4

We treated a number of 141 patients suffering of herpetic keratitis--34 were treated with Acyclovir in the first 72 hours the symptoms started, 42 were treated with Acyclovir after this interval and 65 were treated with IDU. We compared visual acuity after six month and we proved that those that were treated with Acyclovir had the same or better visual performances in most cases. Recurrence rate was 0% in the first year and 2.94% in the second year for those witch were treated with Acyclovir in the first 72 hours symptoms started and 2.94% in the first year and 14.71% in the second year for those treated with Acyclovir after this interval. Patients treated with IDU had suffered 23.53% recurrences in the first year and 41.18% recurrences in the second year. Acyclovir treatment and its precociousness protect patients sight and reduce number of recurrences.
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PMID:[Acyclovir treatment--its effect on visual acuity and the rate of recurrences in herpetic keratitis]. 993 53

There were studied 33 patients admitted with clinical diagnosis of superficial herpetic keratitis, typical form of dendritic ulcer. In all these cases there were performed smears from the level of cornea and conjunctiva, that were stained with rapid blue polycrome tanin Dragan staining method. Smears were performed before and during the evolution of the disease, in patients specifically treated with antiviral drugs and also in cases treated unspecifically. There are described some cytological particularities which have a relative specificity for the diagnosis: a high number of lymphocytes with cytoplasmic blebs, giant multinucleated cells, and epithelial cells with degenerative lesions (nucleocytoplasmic inclusions, vacuoles, chromophobe halo around nucleus). Such lesions were not observed in patients with non herpetic keratitis. Modifications noticed in epithelial corneal cells could suggest the diagnosis, which can be associated with clinical examination, in order to administer a specific therapy. Dynamic cytological evolution shows early regression of specific cellular modifications in patients treated by Acyclovir.
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PMID:[Cytological criteria for assessing the evolution of herpetic keratitis]. 993 54


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