Antiviral therapy of two patients with chromosomally-integrated human herpesvirus-6A presenting with cognitive dysfunction.

BACKGROUND

Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) is a neurotropic virus implicated in central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction, multiple sclerosis, seizures and encephalitis. Inherited or "chromosomally integrated" HHV-6 (CIHHV-6) is a condition characterized by high DNA loads and germ line transmission of HHV-6 genomes, which are integrated into the telomere.

OBJECTIVES

We previously reported that integrated HHV-6 can be reactivated by trichostatin A in vitro. Therefore, we hypothesized that a broad array of neurological symptoms of CIHHV-6 patients may respond to antiviral drug treatment.

STUDY DESIGN

The patients have been treated with antiviral drugs and monitored for viral load, late mRNA, and clinical improvement.

RESULTS

Antiviral therapy of two CIHHV patients resulted in successful clinical resolution. However, both patients relapsed on multiple occasions within 4-6 months of cessation of antiviral therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Successful antiviral drug treatment suggests that clinical symptoms of these patients were due to symptomatic reactivation of CIHHV-6. Alternatively, some CIHHV-6 patients may have a reduced resistance to community-acquired HHV-6 strains due to tolerance leading to persistent infections.