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Biomedical subjects

Daniel T Leung

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel T Leung.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Docosanol: a topical antiviral for herpes labialis.

Recurrent herpes labialis is a painful and potentially disfiguring infection affecting an estimated 40 million people in the US alone. The majority of recurrences are caused by herpes simplex virus type 1. Various oral and topical formulations of nucleoside analogues have demonstrated efficacy for this indication. Over-the-counter treatments are palliative in nature and do not reduce time to healing. Docosanol is a compound with a unique mechanism of action involving viral fusion inhibition. In randomised, clinical trials, a 10% docosanol cream formulation, initiated within 12 h of symptoms onset, demonstrated efficacy in reduction of time-to-healing compared with a polyethylene glycol control. Despite its potential to be a mild irritant, this novel antiviral was well-tolerated in clinical trials. Docosanol is the first topical antiviral approved for over-the-counter use in recurrent herpes labialis.

Administration, Topical↗

Current treatment options to prevent perinatal transmission of herpes simplex virus.

Neonatal herpes is a potentially devastating consequence of perinatal transmission of the herpes simplex virus (HSV), with significant morbidity and mortality. Treatment options are available, but must begin early in disease with manifestations that are often protean. Thus, preventive measures need to be optimised. Antiviral suppression in late pregnancy of women with a history of recurrent genital herpes will decrease symptomatic recurrence at delivery and appears to reduce caesarian section rates. However, primary HSV Type 2 and primary HSV Type 1 episodes have the highest neonatal transmission rates and thus, effective prevention may require the identification and suppression of the discordant partner. Significant experience has been gained with the use of acyclovir in pregnancy and it is recommended for both episodic and suppressive therapy in pregnant women. Its use has been demonstrated to be cost-effective in suppressive therapy, although issues regarding compliance and the potential for neonatal neutropenia need to be addressed. The more conveniently dosed prodrugs valacyclovir and famciclovir are being evaluated for use in pregnancy.

Antiviral Agents↗

Development and validation of a plasma assay for acyclovir using high-performance capillary electrophoresis with sample stacking.

A sensitive plasma assay for acyclovir has been developed and validated. Acyclovir was separated from plasma components using Oasis HLB columns. Separation was obtained with no plasma interference using micellar electrokinetic chromatography (175 mM SDS) and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (100 mM) in 90 mM borate buffer (pH 8.8) containing 0.2% NaCl. High sensitivity was achieved by large volume sample introduction and stacking. The linear range was from 20 to 10000 ng/ml with a limit of quantitation of 20 ng/ml. This method is a viable alternative to HPLC because of its high separation and sensitivity, reproducibility, and adaptability to other nucleoside analogs.

Acyclovir↗