Common Detergent May Prevent HIV Transmission

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), a detergent found in a wide range of personal care products, could prevent the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) when used vaginally, according to a new report.

``The consistent and careful use of latex condoms is an effective method to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV-1, but unfortunately, their use is not generalized,'' Dr. Michel Bergeron from Universite Laval in Quebec, Canada told Reuters Health. ``There is an urgent need to develop vaginal microbicides under the control of women to protect themselves from STDs including HIV.''

Bergeron and colleagues tested the microbicidal activity of SLS, which is known to be a strong inactivator of several viruses in the lab, against HIV in cultured cells. Their findings are published in the August issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

Pretreating the cells with SLS for 1 hour inhibited their infection with HIV, with the strength of infection-blocking increasing as the concentration of SLS increased, the authors report. However, SLS did not inactivate the virus in cells already infected with HIV.

Results of additional experiments indicate that SLS worked by blocking HIV from attaching to and entering the cells. SLS did not appear to affect the health of the cells themselves, the researchers note.

The new findings, along with previous studies, show that in lab tests SLS can inactivate HIV, as well as herpes simplex virus and human papillomavirus--the virus that causes vaginal warts, the authors note. SLS could potentially be used as a vaginal microbicide to prevent the sexual spread of such viruses, and possibly other sexually transmitted infections, Bergeron and colleagues conclude.

``As our gel formulation acts as a double barrier--one, a physical one blocking the sexual transmission of pathogens causing STDs, and two, a chemical one destroying pathogens causing STDs--we expect that it will be effective as soon as applied and remain effective for few hours,'' Bergeron said.

``As there is, until now, no vaccine against HIV-1, preventive measures are the only tool that can presently reduce the transmission of this (virus),'' Bergeron said.

SOURCE: Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 2001;45:2229-2237.