Herpes simplex virus type 2 meningitis as a manifestation of Good's syndrome.

Good's syndrome is a primary immunodeficiency phenocopy characterized for thymoma and immunodeficiency. The most frequent clinical presentation is recurrent or opportunistic infections, hematological alterations, and chronic diarrhea. We treated a 66-year-old man who consulted for 5 days of headache and diplopia with right sixth cranial nerve palsy at examination. Patient reported chronic diarrhea and prolonged febrile syndrome accompanied by weight loss of 23 kg in the last year. Exhaustive evaluation revealed Herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 2 meningitis, eosinophilic colitis, and type A thymoma. Severe antibody deficiency (hypogammaglobulinemia) associated with thymoma confirmed the diagnosis of Good's syndrome.

Herpesvirus: an underestimated virus.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections are common and widespread; nevertheless, their outcome can be of unpredictable prognosis in neonates and in immunosuppressed patients. Anti-HSV therapy is effective, but the emergence of drug-resistant strains or the drug toxicity that hamper the treatment is of great concern. Vaccine has not yet shown relevant benefit; therefore, palliative prophylactic measures have been adopted to prevent diseases. This short review proposes to present concisely the history of HSV, its taxonomy, physical structure, and replication and to explore the pathogenesis of the infection, clinical manifestations, laboratory diagnosis, treatment, prophylaxis and epidemiology of the diseases.

In vitro antiherpes effects of a C-glycosylflavonoid-enriched fraction of Cecropia glaziovii Sneth.

AIMS: To investigate the in vitro antiherpes effects of the crude aqueous extract obtained from Cecropia glaziovii leaves and their related fractions, the n-butanol fraction (n-BuOH) and the C-glycosylflavonoid-enriched fraction (MeOH(AMB)), and to determine the viral multiplication step(s) upon which this C-glycosylflavonoid-enriched fraction acts. METHODS AND RESULTS: The antiviral activity was evaluated against human herpes virus types 1 and 2 (HHV-1, HHV-2) by plaque reduction assay. The mode of action of the most active fraction was investigated by a set of assays, and the results demonstrated that MeOH(AMB) fraction exerts anti-herpes action by the reduction of viral infectivity (only against HHV-2); by the inhibition of virus entry into cells; by the inhibition of cell-to-cell virus spread as well as by the impaired levels of envelope proteins of HHV-1. The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-photo-diode array (PDA) analysis showed that the C-glycosylflavonoids are the major constituents of this fraction. CONCLUSIONS: These data showed that the MeOH(AMB) fraction has an antiviral activity against HHV types 1 and 2. The C-glycosylflavonoids are the major constituents of this fraction, which suggests that they could be one of the compounds responsible for the detected anti-herpes activity. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The MeOH(AMB) fraction can be regarded as a phytopharmaceutical candidate for the treatment of herpetic infections.

Inactivation of HSV-2 by ascorbate-Cu(II) and its protecting evaluation in CF-1 mice against encephalitis.

Ascorbate is an important antioxidant. However, in the presence of transition metals such as Cu(II) or Fe(III), it also has pro-oxidant capabilities. The effect of ascorbate-Cu(II) in the in vitro infection of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and its protecting effect in a murine model was investigated. HSV-2 was treated with different concentrations of ascorbate in the presence of Cu(II). A group of CF-1 mice were treated with the inactivated virus and other treated with maintenance medium containing only ascorbate-Cu(II). Weeks later, mice were challenged intranasally with infectious viruses. HSV-2 was completely inactivated by 2mM ascorbate plus 1mM Cu(II). Ascorbate or Cu(II) alone did not inactivate the virus. Compared with the control group, 60% of the immunized animals did not show any sign of encephalitis and survived the herpes virus infection, while a 7% survival rate was observed in the control group (P = 0.056). We concluded that the in vitro treatment of HSV-2 with ascorbate-Cu(II) is not only able to inactivate the virus, but also suggested that the viral particles induced a protective response against herpes encephalitis. This inactivation may provide an alternative method to develop new agents therapeutics.

Carrageenans from chilean samples of Stenogramme interrupta (Phyllophoraceae): structural analysis and biological activity.

Carrageenans extracted from cystocarpic and tetrasporic Stenogramme interrupta were analysed by chemical and spectroscopic methods. The carrageenan from cystocarpic plants is composed predominantly of 0.5 M KCl-insoluble and 1 M KCl-soluble fractions. The insoluble fraction contained iota-carrageenan as the major component with alpha-carrageenan and pyruvated carrageenan as minor components. The soluble fraction is highly heterogeneous and did not contain the precursors mu- and nu-carrageenans. The polysaccharide from tetrasporic plants is composed of zeta- and lambda-carrageenans, and low sulfated galactans. It is soluble in KCl and partly cyclized by alkaline treatment. The antiviral and anticoagulant properties of the insoluble polysaccharide fraction from cystocarpic S. interrupta and the polysaccharide from tetrasporic S. interrupta are reported the results of which suggest promising antiherpetic activity.

Antiviral activity of sandalwood oil against herpes simplex viruses-1 and -2.

Sandalwood oil, the essential oil of Santalum album L., was tested for in vitro antiviral activity against Herpes simplex viruses-1 and -2. It was found that the replication of these viruses was inhibited in the presence of the oil. This effect was dose-dependent and more pronounced against HSV-1. A slight diminution of the effect was observed at higher multiplicity of infections. The oil was not virucidal and showed no cytotoxicity at the concentrations tested.