Herstat may be clinically proven to be one of the best cold sore creams on the market but even we look forward to the day when the herpes virus that is responsible for so many unsightly and uncomfortable blemishes is eradicated altogether.
And this is not only for cosmetic reasons; the cold sore virus is responsible for many serious illnesses, from shingles and blindness to brain injury, glandular fever, birth defects and even some types of cancers – only now is it become clear how many serious health conditions the cold sore virus is implicated in.
This is why we are pleased to hear news from scientists at the University Medical Centre in Utrecht, the Netherlands, that gene therapy has the potential to expunge the herpes virus from the individual human body.
By using CRISPR, a "gene-editing technique", scientists are able cut DNA at particular points in a sequence. This may be able to permanently disable dormant viruses, leaving them unable to repair. However, getting the technique right is easier said than done; cutting DNA sequences can result in errors or unhelpful mutations in genetic code.
So far there has been some success. Scientists have found that by cutting DNA from one particular type of herpes virus they were able to reduce viral activity by half; cuts in two locations resulted in 95 per cent of dormant viruses being eliminated.
"We could efficiently remove the latent genome from infected cells, essentially curing cells from their invader," said one of the scientists.
It is also worth noting that the scientists have so far been less successful in gene editing the virus responsible for cold sores, meaning that sufferers may still be searching for the best cold sore cream on the market for some years yet!
