PMID- 16384760
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20060530
LR  - 20210409
IS  - 1097-6787 (Electronic)
IS  - 0190-9622 (Linking)
VI  - 54
IP  - 1
DP  - 2006 Jan
TI  - Use of high-dose acyclovir in pityriasis rosea.
PG  - 82-5
AB  - BACKGROUND: The association of human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) and HHV-7 with 
      pityriasis rosea suggests that systemic drugs directed against HHV may hasten 
      recovery of patients with pityriasis rosea. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study 
      was to verify the efficacy of oral acyclovir in the treatment of pityriasis 
      rosea. METHODS: Eighty-seven consecutive patients were treated for 1 week with 
      either oral acyclovir (800 mg 5 times daily) or placebo. In all patients, the 
      time of lesion clearing and the number of new lesions appearing during treatment 
      were recorded. RESULTS: On the 14th day of treatment, 79% of treated patients 
      fully regressed compared with 4% of the placebo group. The lesions cleared in 
      18.5 days in treated patients and in 37.9 days in the placebo group. Clearance 
      was achieved in 17.2 days in patients treated in the first week from onset and in 
      19.7 days in the patients treated later. On the 7th day, there were significantly 
      fewer new lesions in patients treated in the first week than in those treated 
      later. LIMITATIONS: This trial was neither randomized nor double blind. 
      Objectivity was achieved by counting the lesions. CONCLUSION: Acyclovir may be 
      effective in the treatment of pityriasis rosea, especially in patients treated in 
      the first week from onset, when replicative viral activity of HHV is probably 
      very high.
FAU - Drago, Francesco
AU  - Drago F
AD  - Department of Endocrinological and Metabolic Sciences, University of Genoa, 
      Genoa, Italy. lonetti@unige.it
FAU - Vecchio, Federica
AU  - Vecchio F
FAU - Rebora, Alfredo
AU  - Rebora A
LA  - eng
PT  - Controlled Clinical Trial
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - J Am Acad Dermatol
JT  - Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
JID - 7907132
RN  - 0 (Antibodies, Viral)
RN  - 0 (Antiviral Agents)
RN  - 0 (Immunoglobulin G)
RN  - X4HES1O11F (Acyclovir)
SB  - IM
MH  - Acyclovir/*administration & dosage/therapeutic use
MH  - Administration, Oral
MH  - Adult
MH  - Antibodies, Viral/blood
MH  - Antiviral Agents/*administration & dosage/therapeutic use
MH  - Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
MH  - Female
MH  - Herpesvirus 6, Human/immunology
MH  - Herpesvirus 7, Human/immunology
MH  - Humans
MH  - Immunoglobulin G/blood
MH  - Male
MH  - Pityriasis Rosea/*drug therapy/virology
MH  - Time Factors
MH  - Treatment Outcome
EDAT- 2005/12/31 09:00
MHDA- 2006/05/31 09:00
CRDT- 2005/12/31 09:00
PHST- 2005/01/12 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2005/06/20 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2005/06/27 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2005/12/31 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2006/05/31 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2005/12/31 09:00 [entrez]
AID - S0190-9622(05)02113-4 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.jaad.2005.06.042 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Am Acad Dermatol. 2006 Jan;54(1):82-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2005.06.042.