There has been a lot of research being conducted on the herpes simplex virus over the last decade or so.
And with good reason.
Almost a hundred percent of the population carry the virus in some areas of the world.
So far, the virus is docile, meaning that it does us no real harm except those pesky herpes blisters that pop up once in a while, but you never know when the virus will mutate and become something worse.
So why, with all this research being done and all, don't we have a cure yet? The reason lies with the nature of the virus, and we will need to go through this before we can answer this question.
Once a person gets infected with the virus, it usually takes anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of months for the person to get actual physical symptoms of it.
These symptoms usually display themselves through the means of blisters, fevers or muscle soreness.
This is when the virus has had space and time to multiply.
After a while though, the body becomes aware of the herpes virus and quickly gets accustomed, and after that kills it off effectively.
But it doesn't do it completely.
Now we're getting to why both the body and modern medicine have a troubles completely eliminating the virus.
When the virus senses that it's getting killed off, it retreats and hides deep inside our nerve cells.
So deep, that neither the white cells, the immune system, nor the medicinal molecules can reach them.
Later on, when the immune system is lowered for whatever reason, the virus again decides to pop its head out and go out for a reproduction spree.
This method of "hiding" where you can't hurt them is the main reason herpes research has been unfruitful so far.
The antiviral drugs that kill off the virus are very effective, but if they can't reach the virus they're not really doing much good.
Lately, some research has been conducted on trying to force the herpes virus out of hiding.
They've had some success, as in, they've gotten the virus to actually pop out of the cell prematurely, but this comes with pretty big side effects.
So far, this procedure gets the virus out, but at the same time it actually kills off the nerve-cells as well, which is not too good at all.
In any case, it will take at least another five years till any derivative of this medicine is out there on the market.
The unfortunate part of medicine research is that it is not just a matter of finding something that works, but that you have to go through all of the processes afterwards that ensure it is safe and that you follow all the regulations.
And with good reason.
Almost a hundred percent of the population carry the virus in some areas of the world.
So far, the virus is docile, meaning that it does us no real harm except those pesky herpes blisters that pop up once in a while, but you never know when the virus will mutate and become something worse.
So why, with all this research being done and all, don't we have a cure yet? The reason lies with the nature of the virus, and we will need to go through this before we can answer this question.
Once a person gets infected with the virus, it usually takes anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of months for the person to get actual physical symptoms of it.
These symptoms usually display themselves through the means of blisters, fevers or muscle soreness.
This is when the virus has had space and time to multiply.
After a while though, the body becomes aware of the herpes virus and quickly gets accustomed, and after that kills it off effectively.
But it doesn't do it completely.
Now we're getting to why both the body and modern medicine have a troubles completely eliminating the virus.
When the virus senses that it's getting killed off, it retreats and hides deep inside our nerve cells.
So deep, that neither the white cells, the immune system, nor the medicinal molecules can reach them.
Later on, when the immune system is lowered for whatever reason, the virus again decides to pop its head out and go out for a reproduction spree.
This method of "hiding" where you can't hurt them is the main reason herpes research has been unfruitful so far.
The antiviral drugs that kill off the virus are very effective, but if they can't reach the virus they're not really doing much good.
Lately, some research has been conducted on trying to force the herpes virus out of hiding.
They've had some success, as in, they've gotten the virus to actually pop out of the cell prematurely, but this comes with pretty big side effects.
So far, this procedure gets the virus out, but at the same time it actually kills off the nerve-cells as well, which is not too good at all.
In any case, it will take at least another five years till any derivative of this medicine is out there on the market.
The unfortunate part of medicine research is that it is not just a matter of finding something that works, but that you have to go through all of the processes afterwards that ensure it is safe and that you follow all the regulations.
SHARE
