Effective Treatment of Experimental Herpes Simplex Keratitis with New Derivative, 5-Methylamino-2′-Deoxyuridine (MADU)

Summary A recently synthesized compound, 5-methylamino-2′-deoxyuridine (MADU) was shown to be highly active in suppressing infection with herpes simplex virus in vitro and to exert beneficial effect in therapeutic and prophylactic-therapeutic treatment of experimental keratitis in the rabbit eye caused by herpes simplex virus. The beneficial effect was equal to or only slightly less than that observed in comparative tests with 5-iodo-2′-deoxyuridine (IDU). The low toxicity of MADU for the rabbit eye, the high level of activity, the absence of halogen, and the apparent low level incorporation into the DNA of host cells justify experimental investigations in man in infections in which IDU would normally be employed. The practical and theoretical implications of use of MADU and IDU in the human being are discussed.