Clinical Virology Programs

Valomaciclovir Shows Promise for Treating Mono

September 23, 2009

Preliminary results of our valomaciclovir treatment of infectious mononucleosis (Mono 6) study were presented at the ICAAC meeting in San Francisco on September 14, 2009.  In a nutshell, the 11 subjects who received the antiviral drug valomaciclovir got better faster than the 10 volunteers who received placebo tablets, and the drug significantly reduced the amount of virus in the oral cavity. “A specific treatment for mono has great potential,” Balfour said, “because mono often results in several weeks of reduced productivity in school or the workplace and shortening that would be a great boon.”  Also, mono is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which can produce serious disease in persons with weakened immunity, such as transplant recipients. “Development of this drug could be important to them,” he said, “because there are presently very few treatment options for EBV infections.”

Reference

Balfour HH Jr, Vezina HE, Hogquist KA, Brundage RC, Anderson BJ, Odumade OA. Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of valomaciclovir (VALM) for infectious mononucleosis. Presented at the 49th annual meeting of the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, San Francisco, CA, September 14, 2009. Abstract V1256a. In 49th ICAAC Final Program, p221.

February 22, 2008

Mono season is upon us and Clinical Virology has a new experimental treatment protocol called Mono 6. We’re studying a new drug to see if it has an effect on the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), the virus that causes infectious mononucleosis (Mono). The drug, called valomaciclovir (pronounced val-ohm-a-sy-klo-vir) was chosen for this study because test tube experiments show that it may better decrease EBV than other antiviral medications like acyclovir. Study participants will be randomized (like flipping a coin) to see if they get valomaciclovir or a placebo (sugar pill).

Participants take the new drug or placebo for 3 weeks and make periodic clinic visits so we can monitor their health, draw a small amount of blood and get a mouth wash with a sterile solution to measure valomaciclovir’s effectiveness.

If you, or anyone you know has symptoms of sore throat, fatigue, headache, loss of appetite or swollen neck glands, and the symptoms have started within the last week, we want to know. Call us at 612-625-1462 to see if you are eligible. Study participants get a $20 University of Minnesota Bookstore Gift Card for each clinic visit.

August 20, 2007

As last year’s Mono 5 Study participants return to the University of Minnesota for fall semester, the Clinical Virology Research Program will intensify our efforts for the 2007-2008 academic year. We’ll continue to follow those who accepted our invitation to join the study last year until 2010.

Also, beginning on September 11, we’ll begin screening freshmen from the class of 2011 for participation in the study. Our staff will be on hand in the residence halls with information about the study. If you choose to go through the screening process–a simple blood draw that takes less than five minutes–we’ll test to see if you’ve ever been exposed to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the virus that causes mono.

We’re also developing new mono studies and we’re in the process of negotiating a study of a new drug that seems to have an effect on EBV. Please check our website periodically for more information.

September 26, 2006 – June 13, 2007

Freshmen from the University of Minnesota Class of 2010 were screened by residence hall on 6 evenings in 2006 as follows: Territorial Hall, 9/26, 9/27; Frontier Hall, 10/3, 10/4; Pioneer Hall, 10/10, 10/11. Consent was obtained from 268 freshmen; 267 enrolled and were screened (Step 1) for EBV antibodies. Of those eligible to continue on the prospective study (Step 2), 67 volunteered. Two have withdrawn because they transferred from the University of Minnesota and had too far to come to continue participation. There have been no adverse events. Nine students so far have developed infectious mononucleosis without complications.

Mono 5 A Study on Risk Factors for the Severity of Mono

October 27, 2006

The study on Risk Factors for the Severity of Mono (Mono 5) has completed its screening step. Many, many thanks to the 267 freshmen from Territorial, Frontier and Pioneer Halls who enrolled. All of you should have received your results. If you haven’t, please email Dr. Hank Balfour and he’ll provide them to you.

We encourage all those students who tested negative for EBV antibodies to enroll in Step 2. This is the part of the study that should actually define the risk factors for severity of Mono.

Step 2 enrollments began October 18th. Volunteers eligible for Step 2 are being contacted for their first appointment now. We’re trying to enroll the Step 2 volunteers pretty much in the order that they were screened in Step 1. Thus, all Territorial Hall students eligible for Step 2 should now have been notified about scheduling their first visit. We’ll be e-mailing Frontier volunteers next week and those in Pioneer the week after that. Our plans are to complete all initial Step 2 visits by the end of November.