valacyclovir and Anemia--Sickle-Cell

To assess safety and tolerability, we administered valacyclovir, an oral anti-viral medication that inhibits erythrocyte sickling in vitro, to 14 subjects with sickle-cell anemia for 1 week at a standard dose of 1,000 mg every 8 hr. No clinically significant adverse effects occurred. In 11 subjects in steady state, the mean hemoglobin concentration was almost constant while the absolute reticulocyte count decreased in eight (P = 0.1) and the overall mean fell slightly although not significantly (10%, P = 0.2). These results suggest that valacyclovir is safe and well tolerated in patients with sickle-cell anemia and that a longer duration of therapy merits investigation.

Topics: Acyclovir; Adolescent; Adult; Anemia, Sickle Cell; Antisickling Agents; Antiviral Agents; Erythrocytes, Abnormal; Female; Hemoglobins; Humans; Male; Maximum Tolerated Dose; Prodrugs; Prospective Studies; Safety; Survival Rate; Treatment Outcome; Valacyclovir; Valine; Young Adult