RT Journal
A1 Whitley RJ
T1 POstherpetic neuralgia in herpes zoster—reply
JF JAMA
JO JAMA
YR 2009
FD November 4
VO 302
IS 17
SP 1862
OP 1863
DO 10.1001/jama.2009.1581
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2009.1581
AB 
I stand by my statement that “[p]revention of PHN is a major concern because antiviral drugs alone do not reliably prevent this complication.” The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), using the definition of PHN cited by Zhou et al, concluded that although treatment may decrease the median duration of pain (as a continuum), the data from well-controlled clinical trials did not provide evidence of reduction of PHN for any of the licensed drugs: acyclovir,1 valacyclovir,2 or famciclovir.3 The FDA refused to grant this indication based on its analyses and input from advisory committees.