The effect of L-Lysine in recurrent herpes labialis: pilot study with a 8-year follow up

ABSTRACT Several treatments for recurrent herpes labialis have been tested, including intradermal snake venom, camphor compresses, psychiatric treatments, vitamin C and other vitamin complexes. Nowadays, topical and systemic retroviral drugs such as acyclovir, valacyclovir and vadarabina are the drugs of choice. However they are only effective for symptoms minimization of existing lesions, without eliminating the virus permanently. In this study an alternative treatment with oral L-lysine is presented. This is one of the eight essential not manmade amino acids which should be acquired through feeding since they are important for protein synthesis and organism development. It was observed a significant effect on the annual incidence reduction of recurrent herpes in 12 patients with 8-year follow up.【摘要】 已有多项针对复发性唇疱疹（recurrent herpes labialis）的治疗方案被研究测试，涵盖皮内注射蛇毒、樟脑湿敷疗法、精神干预治疗、维生素C及其他复合维生素制剂。当前，外用与全身性逆转录病毒药物如阿昔洛韦（acyclovir）、伐昔洛韦（valacyclovir）与阿糖腺苷（vadarabina）已成为临床首选治疗药物，但此类药物仅能缓解现有皮损的症状，无法永久清除体内病毒。 本研究提出一种口服L-赖氨酸的替代治疗方案。L-赖氨酸属于8种人体无法自身合成的必需氨基酸之一，需通过膳食摄取，对蛋白质合成与机体发育具有重要作用。研究对12名患者开展了为期8年的随访，结果显示该疗法可显著降低复发性唇疱疹的年发病率。