A landmark research conducted by the Microbiologists at Duke University, might offer a potentioal cure for cold sores, which is caused by Herpes Simplex Virus - 1 (HSV-1).

If you are infected with the HSV-1 virus once, it remains inactive in the facial nerves and emerges periodically to cause cold sores.

Researches done till date, had concentrated on keeping the virus inactive and preventing cold sores from showing up. But according to Dr. Bryan Cullen, we need to switch the virus from its inactive stage to its active stage, because unless the virus is activated, you can't kill it.

Dr. Bryan Cullen is a professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at Dukes University, who along with his team of microbiologists, conducted the research on mice, to find a way to activate the virus and then kill it using Acyclovir. From the research, they found that a small component of HSV-1 called microRNA, blocks the production of proteins, essential for the reactivation of the virus. So if there is sufficient supply of microRNA, the virus remains inactive.

Dr. Cullen said that a drug can be developed to block the microRNA, which in turn will activate the virus and then it can be eradicated completely by one dose of Acyclovir.

Cullen suggested that this new research can also be applied to other latent viruses, such as, HSV-2 and chicken pox virus, but patients suffering from HSV-2 virus might have to take regular doses of Acyclovir.

The research was funded by the National Institute of Health and will be published in the journal 'Nature' this week.  

Dr. Stacey Efstathiou, from Cambridge University, comments, that it's an important finding, which could eventually lead to new treatments.