For shingles patients, a chance to help find a better treatment

Wayne Kenyon thought the itching on his left shoulder blade might be a mosquito bite. He’d scratch it by rubbing against a doorjamb and go on with his day.

But after about two weeks and the appearance of a rash that stretched under his arm, he knew it was time to ask for help.

“I said to my wife: ‘Something’s wrong here. Would you take a look at this?’ She said, ‘I believe this looks like a case of shingles,’” said Kenyon, 79.

She was right. The rash and blisterlike sores healed soon, but the severe pain has lingered.

It’s been two months since Kenyon’s doctor diagnosed his shingles, and use of his left arm is limited. Even lifting a gallon of milk out of the refrigerator requires two hands for the normally active senior.

A painful rash in a band on one side of the body characterizes shingles cases, which are caused by the varicella zoster virus, the culprit behind chickenpox. In the U.S., 1 in 3 people will develop shingles at some point; the number is greater (1 in 2) for those living to age 85, according to government statistics.

About 1 in 5 shingles sufferers will get what is called postherpetic neuralgia, or PHN, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is a debilitating pain that can last for weeks or even years.

Dr. Keith Wilkerson, an Arlington family practice physician who treated Kenyon, said that the danger of a shingles outbreak is serious and that Kenyon’s story is all too common.

“I see [shingles] all the time,” Wilkerson said Thursday. “I’ve seen it twice this week.”

Starting this month, Wilkerson is participating in a national trial for a drug that its makers hope will ease both the severity and the long-term complications of shingles. Arlington-based Texas Physicians Medical Research Group is running the phase 3 clinical trial locally for ContraVir Pharmaceuticals. Wilkerson also hopes it’s an opportunity to get the word out about recognizing the virus.

“In order to treat it effectively with any antiviral drugs, including the one we’re testing here, we really need to catch it within 72 hours of the rash appearing. The sooner the better,” Wilkerson said. “It’s important for people to be alert.”

Another clue that a rash may be shingles is some pain in the area about a week before the rash occurs, said Umer Hafeez, director of research at the medical group.

Doctors believe that lowered immunity, as happens with age and any kind of stress like lack of sleep or sickness, gives the virus an opportunity to re-emerge in people who have had chickenpox. A preventive shingles vaccine is available but is not always effective.

Especially in summer, shingles sufferers think the itchy rash is due to poison ivy or a bug bite, Wilkerson said. They let it go for a few days or more, and by the time they show up at their doctor, treating it with antiviral drugs such as Valtrex is difficult. The pain that results is also difficult to treat because it comes from inside the nerve, where the virus has been hibernating and attacks, he said.

Finding a way to block long-term affects such as PHN would be a breakthrough that could help seniors like Kenyon. Wilkerson and others involved in the study said the need for a better medication motivates them.

“The rash dries up, but then eight to 12 weeks later, they have pain where the rash was, that nerve, and that can last for months or even years. That’s the biggest problem. That’s what we’re trying to prevent,” Wilkerson said.

This story was originally published August 15, 2015 at 8:35 AM with the headline "For shingles patients, a chance to help find a better treatment."