2'-Fluoro-5-iodoarabinosylcytosine, a new potent antiviral agent: efficacy in immunosuppressed individuals with herpes zoster. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • 2'-Fluoro-5-iodoarabinosylcytosine (FIAC) has potent antiviral activity in vivo against herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 and cytomegalovirus. For examination of the clinical efficacy of FIAC, a randomized, double-blind study of FIAC versus adenine arabinoside (ara-A) was conducted in 34 immunosuppressed individuals with varicella-zoster virus infections. The median time to the appearance of the last new lesion was shorter in patients who received FIAC relative to those who received ara-A (two versus five days, respectively; P less than .001) FIAC also reduced pain and accelerated initial crusting within 72 hr in a significantly greater proportion of patients when compared with ara-A (P = .004 and P = .0009, respectively). FIAC caused few toxic reactions (mild nausea and transient elevation in activity of serum aspartate aminotransferase). Thus FIAC is therapeutically superior to ara-A for the treatment of varicella-zoster virus infections in immunosuppressed subjects.

publication date

  • September 1, 1986

Research

keywords

  • Antiviral Agents
  • Cytarabine
  • Herpes Zoster

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 0022516798

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1093/infdis/154.3.430

PubMed ID

  • 3525694

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 154

issue

  • 3