Lysine Or Not?

[furrypurry]

Both my cats have herpes, which is most of the time dormant and is non-problematic. One of them does have chronic congestion, but not to the point where it is worrisome. But right now I have one with a flare involving horrible congestion/sneezing. I used to give both of them Viralys powder, but then I saw the research paper stating that Lysine is not helpful and could even be harmful. Lysine supplementation is not effective for the prevention or treatment of feline herpesvirus 1 infection in cats: a systematic review

Just wondering what other cat parents think about this new information. Now I'm afraid to give the Lysine to them thinking it may harm them.

 

[cheeser]

We read some similar articles about a year or so ago, but every time we tried to discontinue the Viralys, our cat would develop a really wicked herpes flare-up. So even though he's always congested, he does better on the L-lysine than without it.

I did find this old thread helpful: Stubborn herpes infection? Add lactoferrin in addition to Lysine

 

[xeenthequeen]

I have the same problem right now. Xena has always had chronic symptoms (sneeze attacks) and I stopped supplementing lysine after reading that review. I never noticed a difference in the frequency or severity of flare ups on it anyways. Unfortunately it seems all we can do for prevention is provide a good diet and reduce stress.

 

[himawari]

I read that study a while back, and it didn't sit right with me. 1) I'm not sure who sponsored the study to begin with 2) The study was only done

My cat has a URI which led to eye & nose discharge, sneezing and excessive drooling. With lysine, most of those symptoms disappeared. I would recommend starting with a small dosage before upping it up. I began my cat with a really high dose which I am not truly comfortable with but the vet insisted.

 

[white shadow]

Hi furrypurry !

I read that study a while back, and it didn't sit right with me.....

It sure didn't "sit right" with me, either !

So, (two years ago) I decided that I would pose the question to the specialized online feline herpes community - yes, there is such a group **.....and, they've been active online since 2000 (that's 17 years+ !)...and, they've had almost 1,600 people and their cats as members.....and, they've been successfully managing their kitties' herpes condition over that time !

I figured that, if anyone would know anything, then, surely it would be those folks.

Here's the answer I received from the person 'behind'/supporting that group (the group 'leader'):

Yes, we saw this study and decided to completely ignore it for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that most of us have been using lysine to good effect for years. Also, this study was done by someone (who), as I understand it, is a vet tech in training--not exactly a research scientist. We feel that when the AVMA announces that lysine is ineffective in herpes cats, we will consider their reasoning and go from there.

That was good enough for me (on top of my own successful use of l-lysine over many years).

This so-called study is so full of holes and is surrounded by so many questions that it practically discredits itself, IMO.

(For me, the first of those peripheral questions raised its head when a very popular cat website posted it... along with an introductory statement that the study's author had asked that it be 'advertised'/posted/referenced on there.........personally, I found that very odd, even unheard of. Meantime, the reference to that 'request'/petition was later edited out/removed.)

I also felt that these "researchers" selectively chose the studies that were cited....and chose to ignore others. A prominent feline Veterinarian, Dr. Arnold Plotnick had an article on his site in which he referenced a 2002 study:

Lysine can help the cat’s immune system keep the herpes virus in check. Lysine is an amino acid that has been shown to reduce the severity of the clinical signs of in humans, and this has been shown to be the case in cats as well. Lysine is available in vitamin shops and health food stores, however, the pills are large and hard to administer to cats. Recently, a palatable lysine paste (Enisyl-F ™) has become available for veterinarians to prescribe to cats with URIs due to herpes virus. A study in the American Journal of Veterinary Research, published in 2002, confirmed the effectiveness of lysine in reducing the clinical signs of herpes virus infection in cats, compared with placebo.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160521125024/http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/viral_upper_respiratory_infections.htm [my emphasis]

(The Manhattan Cats website appears to have changed in mid-2016....the title of that article still appears on its list of feline health topics, but the link will not bring it up....it's still available through the Internet Archive)

Hope something there helps.


** Those folks are here: For companions of cats who have feline herpes virus (FVR) - Yahoo Group
.

 

[furrypurry]

Thank you. I have decided to start giving it to them again. I've never heard of anybody experiencing adverse effects from using Lysine. The things on the internet make my head spin!