No Rush to Use Chicken Pox Drug
Acyclovir, an anti-viral drug used to treat genital herpes, can also shorten the duration and misery of childhood chicken pox, suggests a study published last week. But parents eager to get their children up and about may be in for a surprise.
In a random survey, Los Angeles area pediatricians said they are not likely to prescribe acyclovir routinely for chicken pox, an infectious viral disease marked by fever and blisters that strikes nearly everyone during childhood and lasts about five days. Doctors say the study, published in this month’s Journal of Pediatrics, involves far too few children to warrant an across-the-board change in treatment--at least for now.
In the study, Dr. Henry Balfour, of the University of Minnesota, and his colleagues gave oral acyclovir to 50 children with chicken pox. Another 52 children received placebos. Those taking acyclovir were sick about a day less, recovered from fevers more quickly and had fewer lesions. Reducing the course of the disease is not just a matter of convenience, experts say. It might reduce the likelihood of complications, which can include brain infections on rare occasions.
Oral acyclovir will be available in pharmacies by May, said Kathy Bartlett, a spokeswoman for Burroughs Wellcome, which manufactures the drug. But it may sit a while on Los Angeles pharmacy shelves.
Dr. Wilbert Mason, a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles and USC professor of clinical pediatrics, said the study won’t affect his treatment of chicken pox. “It’s a very preliminary study. It includes a very small number of patients. We need more substantial experience to consider a massive change in treatment.”
“I would not prescribe acyclovir except perhaps for an infant,” said Dr. Elmer Crehan, a pediatrician on staff at Hospital of the Good Samaritan and Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles. “I look at this study with interest,” said Dr. Loraine Stern, a Newhall pediatrician. “But I don’t think it should (yet) change treatment. I’d put my money on a chicken pox vaccine.”
A chicken pox vaccine developed by Merck Sharp Dohme is now under review by the Food and Drug Administration, said Faye Peterson, FDA spokeswoman. The vaccine--a live, weakened chicken pox virus--works by creating an antibody response, thus protecting children from getting the disease once they are exposed, said Gary Bruell, a spokesman for the West Point, Pa., manufacturer.
But the FD questions whether the vaccine, called Varivax, would confer lifelong immunity, said Peterson, which is importantbecause chicken pox can be much more serious if contracted in adulthood.
POINT COUNTERPOINT Tapping Into the Value of Self-Help Audio, Video Tapes
What’s your next goal? To stop smoking? Lose weight? Boost self-esteem? Improve your memory? Enhance your sex life?
Audio and video tapes with subliminal messages--subconscious-level suggestions--are just the ticket, proponents claim. Opponents say the tapes, widely available through mail order and bookstores, are long on promises and short on scientific claims.
Here are the opinions of two researchers studying the effects of subliminal message tapes.
Anthony Greenwald, professor of psychology, University of Washington, Seattle
“These tapes have not yet been demonstrated to be effective. The way to determine whether these work or not is to conduct a double-blind study, tests in which neither the subjects nor the researchers know whether subjects are listening to tapes with or without subliminal messages. Next, pre-tests and post tests must be done to determine if the target goal--losing weight, stopping cigarette smoking, improving memory--has been achieved. Basically, this research has not been done nor reported in journals. I am in the midst of a series of double-blind studies, which has not yet yielded evidence of the subliminal tapes’ effectiveness. Let the buyer beware. People who buy these tapes risk losing their time and their money.”
Irene S. Vogel, psychologist, Washington, D.C.
“I’m not convinced that the audio subliminal message tapes work, but I think the video subliminal message tapes might. I recommend the video subliminal message tapes for clients trying to lose weight. People say they notice a difference. These tapes project messages on the TV screen. While watching ‘The Simpsons,’ for instance, consumers can also view a self-esteem program that tells them, ‘I’m worthwhile.’ The results are preliminary, but the impressions we are getting are favorable.”
SHOP TALK New Medicine Is a Snap to Take
Call it medicine for people who hate to swallow medicine. Snaplets--premeasured packets of medicine--can be sprinkled into soft foods. “Good choices are yogurt, chocolate pudding, ice cream or applesauce,” said Jack Lipworth of Baker Cummins Pharmaceuticals in Miami, which recently introduced the over-the-counter medications.
Said Pharmacist Tom Menighan of the American Pharmaceutical Assn. in Washington: “The idea is a good one, though not necessarily new.” The target consumers, he predicted, are children and the elderly.
