EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

The hallmark of the herpes viruses is their ability to establish permanent residency within the neuronal ganglia of our nervous system and to reactivate during times of stress, trauma, and other precipitating factors. The herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) can be associated with painful, blistering outbreaks that, although they are self-limiting, have been associated with considerable morbidity. Antiviral medications are the standard of practice in the management of herpes viral infections. Orally administered antivirals, such as valacyclovir (Valtrex®, GlaxoSmithKline) are prescribed to attenuate the signs and symptoms, reduce the duration of outbreak, and hasten lesion resolution. Our article will focus on the pharmacologic mechanism and diverse clinical indications of one of the second generation antivirals, valacyclovir. The development of the second generation antivirals has been tailored towards enhancing the oral bioavailability and intracellular pharmacokinetics. Valacyclovir provides an excellent safe and effective alternative to its more traditionally prescribed parent compound, acyclovir.