TOPICAL TREATMENT OF RECURRENT MUCOCUTANEOUS HERPES WITH ASCORBIC ACID-CONTAINING SOLUTION

We carried out a randomized double-bind, placebo-controlled clinical t rial on the topical treatment of recurrent mucocutaneous herpes with a strong water solution of Ascoxal(R), an ascorbic acid-containing phar maceutical formulation with mucolytic and non-specific antimicrobial a ctivities. The lesion was firmly pressed with a cotton wool pad soaked in drug solution 3 times for 2 min with 30-min intervals on the first day only. Evaluation of the effects was by daily recordings of severa l different symptoms, including the presence and severity of erythema, induration, papulae or vesicles and scab by both the patient and a tr ained nurse, and by virus culture. Fourteen episodes with active treat ment and 18 with the placebo were analyzed. According to the patients' records, the active treatment resulted in a significantly smaller cum ulative number of days with scab (P < 0.01), or with any remaining sym ptom (P < 0.02) and significantly fewer occasions of worsening of any symptom after the treatment (P < 0.05). According to the nurse's recor ds, the persistence of scabs was significantly shorter in the active t reatment group (means 3.4 vs 5.9 days, P = 0.03). Virus culture after the first day of treatment yielded herpes simplex virus significantly less frequently in the active treatment group than in the placebo grou p (P < 0.01). In conclusion, a brief treatment with this ascorbic acid -containing preparation resulted in statistically significant clinical and antiviral effects, which calls for further and more extensive stu dies with a more intensive treatment schedule.