Antiviral effect of guanidine.

It has been found that soluble guanidine salts show an antiviral effect on poliovirus and on some other enteroviruses. The activity was first detected in a cell culture screening system when the guanidine salt of hydroxyaminomethylene malononitrile inhibited the cytopathic effect of poliovirus in cell cultures. The studies were extended to various in vivo experiments in which the suggestive therapeutic activity of guanidine salts was again observed in monkeys infected with poliovirus. While these drugs cannot be considered for use in human disease because of severe toxicity, it is significant that potential antiviral compounds detected by the cell culture test show in vivo activity and point to the validity of such direct chemotherapeutic trials.