| Disease | THE PURPOSE OF THIS DOUBLE-BLIND PLACEBO-CONTROLLED STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE CLINICAL EFFICACY AND TOLERABILITY OF ALOE VERA EXTRACT 0.5% IN A HYDROPHILIC CREAM TO CURE PATIENTS AFFLICTED WITH THE FIRST EPISODES OF GENITAL HERPES. PRESELECTED
PATIENTS(N-60), AGED 18-40 YEARS(MEAN 23.6), WITH CULTURE-CONFIRMED DIAGNOSIS OF HERPES SIMPLEX GENITALS, HARBORING 738 LESIONS (MEAN 12.3), WERE RANDOMIZED TO ACTIVE OR PLACEBO TREATMENT. PATIENTS ENTERED THE STUDY WITHIN 7 DAYS(MEAN 4.1) OF
THE ONSET OF THE LESIONS. EACH PATIENT WAS PROVIDED WITH A PRECODED 40-G TUBE, CONTAINING PLACEBO/ACTIVE PREPARATION WTIH INSTRUCTIONS ON SELF-APPLICATION OF THE TRIAL MEDICATION TO THEIR LESIONS THREE TIMES DAILY FOR 5 CONSECUTIVE DAYS(MAXIMUM
15 TOPICAL APPLICATIONS PER WEEK). THE GROUP TREATED WITH ALOE VERA EXTRACT CREAM HAD BOTH SIGNIFICANTLY SHORTER MEAN TIME TO HEALING THAN THE PLACEBO GROUP(4.9 DAYS VS 12 DAYS; P<0.001) AND A HIGHER NUMBER OF HEALED PATIENTS(20/30 (66.7%) VS
2/30(6.7%); P<0.001). OF THE 60 PATIENTS, 55(91.6%)COMPLAINED OF NO DRUG-RELATED SIDE-EFFECTS. HOWEVER, 5 PATIENTS EXPERIENCED NONOBJECTIVE MILD ITCHING WHICH RESOLVED WITHIN 24 H. THE TREATMENT WAS WELL TOLERATED BY ALL PATIENTS, AND THERE WERE
NO DROPOUTS. AFTER 16 WKS ALL THE PATIENTS WERE FOLLOWED-UP ON A MONTHLY BASIS FOR UP TO 20 MONTHS. OF THE 22 HEALED PATIENTS, 3(13.6%) SHOWED RECURRENCE AFTER 15 MONTHS. THE CLINICAL RESULTS SUGGEST THAT ALOE VERA EXTRACT(0.5%) IN A HYDROPHILIC
CREAM IS MORE EFFICACIOUS THAN PLACEBO, THUS SUPPORTING THE BENEFITS OF ALOE VERA THERAPY AS AN ALTERNATIVE, RELIABLE AND EFFECTIVE TREATMEHNT TO CURE THE FIRST EPISODES OF GENITAL HERPES IN MEN. |