Inhibition of experimental deoxyribonucleic acid virus-induced encephalitis by 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosylhypoxanthine 5'-monophosphate.

9-beta-d-Arabinofuranosylhypoxanthine 5'-monophosphate (ara-HxMP) significantly controlled the development of encephalitis produced by deoxyribonucleic acid viruses in mice. In most experiments the activities of ara-HxMP and 9-beta-d-arabinofuranosyladenine (ara-A) were determined simultaneously. In the intracerebral (target organ) and intravenous therapy experiments, ara-HxMP had a pronounced advantage over ara-A since the water solubility of ara-HxMP enabled it to be used in much higher concentrations. In experiments where the two drugs were administered intraperitoneally or orally they exhibited similar activity. In several intraperitoneal therapy experiments ara-HxMP was tested alone, using various treatment schedules and dosages. In these experiments, efficacy was observed in groups that had treatments initiated as late as 72 h after virus inoculation.