MedPath

Acyclovir Therapy for Genital Herpes Ulcers in HIV Negative African Women

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Ulcers of Female Genital Organs
Interventions
Drug: Placebo
Registration Number
NCT02053142
Lead Sponsor
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Brief Summary

This is a prospective study to evaluate the pharmacokinetics, clinical and virologic response to acyclovir episodic therapy for genital herpes ulcers in HIV negative African women.

Detailed Description

This is a two-part study designed to measure the Area Under the Curve (AUC) from a single dose of acyclovir 400mg in 60 African HIV-negative heterosexual women who have a history of genital ulcer disease (GUD), are HSV-2 seropositive and HIV-1 seronegative. The study will also examine the time to healing of genital lesion and duration of HSV shedding from GUD among 90 HIV negative African women who have a history of GUD and are Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV)-2 seropositive and HIV-1 seronegative randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive episodic acyclovir or matching placebo.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
Female
Target Recruitment
74
Inclusion Criteria
  • HIV negative as determined by concordant rapid testing
  • HSV-2 seropositive (Focus HerpeSelect EIA >3.4)
  • At least one prior occurrence of GUD
  • 18 to 50 years of age
Exclusion Criteria
  • Current use, or use within the past 7 days, of acyclovir, valacyclovir, or famciclovir
  • Prior hypersensitivity and/or allergic reaction to acyclovir
  • Use of probenecid, which prolongs renal excretion of acyclovir
  • Current use, or use within the past 28 days, of an investigational agent
  • Currently pregnant or nursing
  • Currently plan to become pregnant during the next 3 months
  • Currently consume, on average, more than 7 drinks of alcohol per week (for Part I)
  • Current use of more than 20 cigarettes daily (for Part I)
  • Any condition that in the opinion of the investigator will interfere with successful completion of all study procedures.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
PlaceboPlaceboPlacebo three times daily for 5 days
Part 1 PKAcyclovir400mg dose of acyclovir taken orally, followed by 2 ml blood plasma collection at 1,2,4,6 and 8 hours.
AcyclovirAcyclovir400 mg Acyclovir three times daily for 5 days
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Area under the Curve (AUC)0, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 hours post acyclovir administration

Blood will be drawn for pharmacokinetic measures to determine whether there is a difference in African women vs. the existing AUC data for women and men in North America and Europe.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Time to re-epithelization and time to cessation of HSV sheddingdays 1-5, 7, 9, 11 and 13

Daily assessment of response of genital lesions over 13 days by time to healing and duration of HSV shedding during acyclovir 400mg orally three times daily versus placebo three times daily for 5 days.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia

πŸ‡ΏπŸ‡²

Lusaka, Zambia

Β© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath