{"id":4412,"date":"2013-07-23T11:40:26","date_gmt":"2013-07-23T15:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/?p=4412"},"modified":"2015-05-18T10:56:19","modified_gmt":"2015-05-18T14:56:19","slug":"guess-it-wasnt-the-acyclovir-after-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/guess-it-wasnt-the-acyclovir-after-all\/2013\/07\/23\/","title":{"rendered":"Guess it Wasn’t the Acyclovir After All"},"content":{"rendered":"

Big news in baseball land is that superstar Ryan Braun has been suspended for the rest of the season for using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).<\/a><\/p>\n

And why is this information in an Infectious Diseases blog? Three main reasons:<\/p>\n

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  1. When Braun first got nabbed for PEDs in 2011, it was widely rumored it had something to do with treatment for herpes.\u00a0<\/span>Not surprisingly, I was confused about this, but reasoned that maybe — just maybe — it was due to an interaction between acyclovir and endogenous testosterone production.<\/a> Pretty weak, I know.<\/li>\n
  2. Braun then got the suspension dropped because the urine specimen wasn’t handled properly.<\/a>\u00a0 In hindsight, Braun made some astounding comments<\/a>\u00a0after getting off, but no mention whatsoever of acyclovir.<\/li>\n
  3. I will use any excuse imaginable to write about baseball.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Admittedly, the last one is probably the biggest factor here.<\/p>\n

    Ah, for a simpler, more innocent (!?) era …<\/p>\n