In human medicine (I would have to research veterinary but they generally follow human trends) herpes virus is better treated with something like ganciclovir or acyclovir.
Jenny ---- catatonya <catato...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Do you think AZT could be used for cats with the herpes virus? > tonya > > jb...@tds.net wrote: > Graca, > > Hello. I responded to your email earlier but had some problems with my email > and am not sure if you received it. This is basically what I said. If you get > two emails for this sorry. > > AZT is an antiviral used in human medicine to treat HIV. It is generally used > in combination with other antivirals. Unfortunately, these combinations of > antivirals have not been found to be effective against felv in cats. At least > there are no good studies to support that. > > AZT is often not used or stopped in people because it often causes anemia and > bone marrow toxicity. This is a very widely known side effect of AZT. For > this reason, I would listen to the vet that suggests stopping the AZT. > > Since anemia can be a common symptom of felv and your cat is experiencing it. > It is either because of progression of the felv disease or a side effect of > the drugs. If it is the drug, stop giving it and the anemia should improve > (this can be monitored by looking at the blood for reticulocytes - which are > like baby red blood cells and indicate that the bone marrow is trying to fix > the anemia - this is a good sign). If it is the felv disease progressing than > the AZT is not really helping you anyway and there isn't much reason to > continue giving it. > > If you want to continue to treat the felv virus, there is a lot of buzz about > something called Imulan. It is the first FDA approved drug for the treatment > of felv/fiv in the United States. You may want to ask your vet about this > possibility. It may be beneficial to stop your current meds and try this. I > don't know. It would be trial and error. Keep in mind that anemia and bone > marrow suppression in a felv positive cat is a poor prognostic sign. > > In general, if it were me, I would stop the AZT and watch for improvement of > the anemia. I may add Imulan (I have no experience with this drug yet), would > consider a blood transfusion, from an immunized cat, if the anemia is > significant enough and transfer factor if there is GI upset. > > Hope this helps. > > Jenny > ---- Graca Azevedo wrote: > > > Dear All, > > I was so upset with my sick cat that I did not introduce myself as new to > list a few days ago. I do apologize. I am writing from Brazil, have two > rescued cats. One of them is Felv+. He has been treated on AZT and > interferon for 2 years and half. The virus reached his bone marrow and he has > anemia. Two vets have examined him. One said that I should stop with the > AZT and the other advised to continue. I failed to find on the mail archives > any report on cats being treated with AZT. > I would be most grateful to hear what any of you have to say. > > Regards, > > Graça Azevedo > > > Veja quais são os assuntos do momento no Yahoo! +Buscados > http://br.maisbuscados.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
