Varicella zoster virus, the type of herpes that causes both chickenpox and shingles, causes an itchy, painful rash. No effective treatment currently exists for the virus. (Pic: wikimedia, James Heilman, MD)

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Current medications are ineffective, carry dangerous side effects; new molecule could fill treatment gap

You’ve seen the commercial. The one that ominously tells you if you had chickenpox as a child, the virus that causes shingles is already inside you.

It’s creepy but a good way to prompt people to get the shingles vaccine. Unfortunately, the shot doesn’t always keep you from getting shingles. It just mitigates the symptoms. That’s why University of Georgia researchers David Chu and Uma Singh have developed and patented a molecule to serve as a potential treatment for the varicella zoster virus, the type of herpes that causes both chickenpox and shingles.

A new study found the molecule can effectively treat the uncomfortable lesions that accompany shingles and suggests the molecule may also work against the viruses that cause oral and genital herpes.