The antiviral drug ganciclovir does not inhibit microglial proliferation and activation

[leokitten]

I took Valcyte for 2 1/2 years. I had suspected infectious onset based on initial fever and symptoms, as well as chronically very high EBV, CMV, HHV-6 antibody titers. Valcyte didn’t have any effect on my ME, though I was working full-time and push-crashing all the time.

Valcyte also had this annoying symptom with me that made my strong ME wired feeling at night and insomnia much worse.

I tested that Valcyte actually was causing this worsening multiple times. Within 3 to 4 days of starting the Valcyte again, regardless of exertion, it made me much more wired and unable to sleep at all at night. Within 2 days of stopping Valcyte, the wired symptom and insomnia reduced back to my ME baseline level.

Valcyte definitely made whatever brain overexcitation and/or neuroinflammation caused by ME much worse. Though this had confused me because I knew of this 2014 paper:

Antiviral drug ganciclovir is a potent inhibitor of microglial proliferation and neuroinflammation

I only searched again recently on the topic and found this 2015 paper challenging the previous findings:

The antiviral drug ganciclovir does not inhibit microglial proliferation and activation

 

[Gingergrrl]

I don’t know if this is relevant to anything but Valcyte caused me akathisia when I tried it in 2014. I went as low as 1/64th of a pill but could not tolerate it. (It wasn’t the right med for me regardless but I never heard of anyone else who got this side effect from Valcyte)!

 

[nandixon]

@leokitten, The authors of the first study also made some additional findings that were published in 2017. See this post:

https://forums.phoenixrising.me/ind...th-low-dose-valcyte.39092/page-2#post-1023507