Failure of lysine in frequently recurrent herpes simplex infection. Treatment and prophylaxis

DiGiovanna, John J.

doi:10.1001/archderm.120.1.48

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…McCune et al [8], in a blind crossover study, also observed a reduction in the number of herpes attacks in subjects receiving L-lysine. DiGiovanna and Blank [9] carried out a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of oral L-lysine monohydrochloride (400 mg/ 3 times a day) in 21 subjects with a history of recurring herpes. They reported that the 10 subjects in the placebo group showed a slightly higher number of herpes episodes than the 11 subjects in the L-lysine group but the difference was not statistically signifi cant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Success of <i>L</i>-Lysine Therapy in Frequently Recurrent Herpes simplex Infection

Griffith

Walsh²,

Myrmel³

et al. 1987

Dermatology

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A double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial of oral L-lysine monohydrochloride for the prevention and treatment of recurrent herpes simplex (HSV) infection was conducted. The treatment group was given L-Lysine monohydrochloride tablets (1,000 mg L-lysine per dose) 3 times a day for 6 months. A total of 27 (6 male and 21 female) subjects on L-lysine and 25 (6 male and 19 female) subjects on placebo completed the trial. The L-lysine treatment group had an average of 2.4 (p < 0.05) less HSV infections, symptoms were significantly (p < 0.05) diminished in severity and healing time was significantly reduced (p < 0.05). L-Lysine appears to be an effective agent for reduction of occurrence, severity and healing time for recurrent HSV infection.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Success of <i>L</i>-Lysine Therapy in Frequently Recurrent Herpes simplex Infection

Griffith

Walsh²,

Myrmel³

et al. 1987

Dermatology

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“…A small ( n = 20), but well controlled (randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled case–control) study [ 17 ] in which the effect of 1200 mg lysine per day on recurrence, duration and severity of herpetic lesions was investigated for 4–5 months, confirmed the negative findings of Milman et al [ 20 , 21 ]. A study performed by McCune et al [ 19 ] had a size ( n = 20) and design somewhat similar (double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over) to the study performed by DiGiovanna et al [ 17 ]. The authors did not find a positive effect of lysine on healing rate, but did describe that oral ingestion of 1250 mg lysine daily for a period of 24 weeks lowered the number of recurrences when lysine was taken as compared to when the patients took a placebo.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…Twelve publications did not meet this criterion and were considered off-topic. Of the remaining 30 publications, 17 were included in the qualitative analysis: 2 in vitro studies with FHV-1 [ 7 , 8 ], five clinical trials with cats [ 9 – 13 ], three in vitro studies with HHV-1 [ 14 – 16 ] and 7 clinical trials with humans [ 17 – 23 ]. Thirteen of the 30 publications were considered ineligible.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lysine supplementation is not effective for the prevention or treatment of feline herpesvirus 1 infection in cats: a systematic review

Bol

Bunnik

2015

BMC Vet Res

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BackgroundFeline herpesvirus 1 is a highly contagious virus that affects many cats. Virus infection presents with flu-like signs and irritation of ocular and nasal regions. While cats can recover from active infections without medical treatment, examination by a veterinarian is recommended. Lysine supplementation appears to be a popular intervention (recommended by > 90 % of veterinarians in cat hospitals). We investigated the scientific merit of lysine supplementation by systematically reviewing all relevant literature.MethodsNCBI’s PubMed database was used to search for published work on lysine and feline herpesvirus 1, as well as lysine and human herpesvirus 1. Seven studies on lysine and feline herpesvirus 1 (two in vitro studies and 5 studies with cats), and 10 publications on lysine and human herpesvirus 1 (three in vitro studies and 7 clinical trials) were included for qualitative analysis.ResultsThere is evidence at multiple levels that lysine supplementation is not effective for the prevention or treatment of feline herpesvirus 1 infection in cats. Lysine does not have any antiviral properties, but is believed to act by lowering arginine levels. However, lysine does not antagonize arginine in cats, and evidence that low intracellular arginine concentrations would inhibit viral replication is lacking. Furthermore, lowering arginine levels is highly undesirable since cats cannot synthesize this amino acid themselves. Arginine deficiency will result in hyperammonemia, which may be fatal. In vitro studies with feline herpesvirus 1 showed that lysine has no effect on the replication kinetics of the virus. Finally, and most importantly, several clinical studies with cats have shown that lysine is not effective for the prevention or the treatment of feline herpesvirus 1 infection, and some even reported increased infection frequency and disease severity in cats receiving lysine supplementation.ConclusionWe recommend an immediate stop of lysine supplementation because of the complete lack of any scientific evidence for its efficacy.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-015-0594-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Similar studies on the efficacy of L-lysine supplementation on HSV lesions in human populations have yielded conflicting results, with some authors finding a beneficial effect 20,21 and others failing to detect a beneficial effect. 22,23 The main drawback of 1 in vitro study 13 is that the viability of cells grown under various culture conditions was not reported. Hence, it is difficult to differentiate between the direct effects of various amino acid deficiencies on the growth of the virus and the indirect effects mediated by the influence of the media on the metabolism and viability of cells in which the virus is grown.…”

Section: Effects Of Physiologic Concentrations Of L-lysinementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of physiologic concentrations of l-lysine on in vitro replication of feline herpesvirus 1

Cave¹,

Dennis²,

Gopakumar³

et al. 2014

ajvr

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The difference in FHV-1 DNA load was unlikely to be biologically important. Various l-lysine concentrations did not inhibit in vitro replication of FHV-1 at l-arginine concentrations sufficient to maintain cell growth. This conclusion was consistent with results of other studies in which investigators have not detected a consistently beneficial effect when l-lysine is administered to FHV-1-infected cats.

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Failure of lysine in frequently recurrent herpes simplex infection. Treatment and prophylaxis

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Success of <i>L</i>-Lysine Therapy in Frequently Recurrent Herpes simplex Infection

Success of <i>L</i>-Lysine Therapy in Frequently Recurrent Herpes simplex Infection

Lysine supplementation is not effective for the prevention or treatment of feline herpesvirus 1 infection in cats: a systematic review

Effects of physiologic concentrations of l-lysine on in vitro replication of feline herpesvirus 1

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