RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: If a mother has contracted chickenpox, the antibodies in her milk confer immunity against chickenpox to her breastfed babies. This passive immunization may avoid or spare the breastfed babies' symptoms of chickenpox. It is hypothesized that frozen breast milk may shorten chickenpox duration because specific antibodies against varicella zoster have been detected in human milk and they are resistant to digestion and are stable in frozen milk. DESIGN: The clinical outcomes of chickenpox in a 9-year-old boy and his father on frozen breast milk are reported. SETTINGS: The study comprised a varicella-vaccine-refusing family attending a private office of pediatrics. INTERVENTIONS AND RESULTS: The boy presented with a crusted varicella rash. The medical history revealed premature cessation of the typical varicella rash on day 3. It was coincidental with a supply of frozen human milk by his mother. Next, the father (41 years old) of this patient contracted chickenpox: he was on frozen breast milk from day 2, and no new pox emerged thereafter. CONCLUSIONS: The rash spread and numbered 50 to 150 lesions on day 2. Instead, the typical rash was expected to appear in three successive crops of lesions throughout the first week. The disease usually numbers approximately 250-500 lesions in unvaccinated healthy persons. Frozen breast milk may shorten chickenpox duration.
Asunto(s)
Productos Biológicos/uso terapéutico , Varicela/tratamiento farmacológico , Congelación , Herpes Zóster/inmunología , Leche Humana/inmunología , Adulto , Anticuerpos , Productos Biológicos/inmunología , Varicela/inmunología , Varicela/patología , Varicela/virología , Vacuna contra la Varicela , Niño , Estabilidad de Medicamentos , Almacenaje de Medicamentos/métodos , Exantema/prevención & control , Humanos , Masculino , Madres , Aceptación de la Atención de Salud , Resultado del Tratamiento , VacunaciónRESUMEN
The anti-herpes simplex virus (HSV) compound, oxyresveratrol, purified from a Thai traditional medicinal plant of Artocarpus lakoocha, was evaluated for its anti-varicella-zoster virus (VZV) activity. This compound exhibited IC(50) values (50%-inhibitory concentrations for virus plaque formation) of 12.82, 12.80, 12.99 and 12.82 microg/ml against wild type, thymidine kinase-deficient and two types of DNA polymerase mutants with acyclovir-resistance, respectively. Thus oxyresveratrol showed a broad spectrum of anti-VZV activity with a mechanism of action different from that of acyclovir.
Asunto(s)
Antivirales/farmacología , Varicela/virología , Farmacorresistencia Viral , Herpesvirus Humano 3/efectos de los fármacos , Extractos Vegetales/farmacología , Estilbenos/farmacología , Replicación Viral/efectos de los fármacos , Línea Celular , Herpesvirus Humano 3/genética , Herpesvirus Humano 3/fisiología , HumanosRESUMEN
The authors describe an acyclovir-resistant varicella zoster virus infection in a pediatric patient after hematopoietic stem cell transplant, the use of foscarnet as salvage therapy, and review the literature to clarify the pediatric experience with foscarnet in this setting. A novel thymidine kinase mutation is described, along with a new phenotypic assay for characterizing acyclovir resistance in varicella zoster virus.
Asunto(s)
Aciclovir/farmacología , Varicela/tratamiento farmacológico , Farmacorresistencia Viral/genética , Foscarnet/uso terapéutico , Herpesvirus Humano 3/efectos de los fármacos , Terapia Recuperativa/métodos , Timidina Quinasa/genética , Varicela/virología , Niño , Femenino , Humanos , Pruebas de Sensibilidad Microbiana/métodos , MutaciónRESUMEN
We report a retrospective analysis of VZV infection after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in children. Thirty-three (30%) of the total 109 children who were transplanted during a 7 year period developed post-transplant VZV infection. Twenty-four of these 33 (73%) children had VZV infection within 1 year following HSCT. The cumulative incidences of post-transplant VZV infection at 1 and 5 years were 26% and 45%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values of pretransplant VZV serology in recipients on the development of HZ following HSCT were 39% and 88%, respectively. Pretransplant VZV seropositivity in recipients was the only risk factor for post-transplant herpes zoster (HZ) infection on multivariate analysis. All patients responded to acyclovir. The median duration of VZV infection was 5 days. Three (11%) and one (3%) children with HZ developed visceral dissemination and post-herpetic neuralgia, respectively. No mortality was directly attributed to VZV infection. VZV infection remains a major cause of morbidity in children after HSCT. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the potential use of VZV vaccine in these children. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2000) 25, 167-172.