CDC's STD guidelines add botanical treatment

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) included a botanical treatment for genital warts in its recently revised 2010 CDC Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) Treatment Guidelines.

CDC included Veregen (sinecatechins) Ointment 15%, a topical medication for the treatment of external genital and perianal warts, as a new therapeutic option in the guidelines.

Approved by FDA in October 2006, Veregen is derived from green tea leaves from the plant Camellia sinensis (L.) O Kuntze and contains a proprietary mixture of catechins and other green-tea components. Catechins reportedly have antioxidative, immunostimulatory, and antiviral properties, according to PharmaDerm, the manufacturer of Veregen.

Other patient-applied treatments recommended for external genital warts in the new treatment guidelines are podofilox 0.5% solution or gel and imiquimod 5% cream.

CDC’s STD Treatment Guidelines were revised after CDC met in Atlanta in April 2009 with a group of professionals knowledgeable in the field of STDs.

The updated guidelines feature new information on the expanded diagnostic evaluation for cervicitis and trichomoniasis; new treatment recommendations for bacterial vaginosis and genital warts; the clinical efficacy of azithromycin for chlamydial infections in pregnancy; the role of Mycoplasma genitalium and trichomoniasis in urethritis/cervicitis and treatment-related implications; the increasing prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae; the sexual transmission of hepatitis C; and approaches to STD prevention.