Therapy of Experimental Herpes Simplex Encephalitis with Aciclovir in Mice

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Abstract
This report is concerned with the capacities of aciclovir to protect mice challenged intracerebrally with multiple lethal doses of type 1 herpes simplex virus and to control multiplication of this virus in the brain. With treatment initiated 12 h after inoculation and continued for 4 consecutive days, aciclovir administered subcutaneously in daily doses ranging from 40 to 100 mg/kg led to 21-day survival rates of from 33 to 73% and reduced virus titers by 1 to ½ × 4 logs on postchallenge day 8. The therapeutic accomplishments of the 100-mg/kg doses of aciclovir were comparable to those of 1,000-mg/kg doses of vidarabine (9-β- d -arabinofuranosyladenine); however, as measured by impact on body weight, aciclovir was better tolerated than vidarabine at these similarly effective doses.