I received a copy of the Medical University of South Carolina annual report in the mail yesterday. The following is the text of one of the feature articles in the report.
"This isn't a cure yet, but it is certainly good news on the cold front. We've shown that by blocking the pathways that allow cold viruses to enter cells, we can reduce the incidence of disease and ease the symptoms. It's definitely a step in the right direction."
Ronald Turner, M.D..
MUSC College of Medicine
WINNING THE COLD WAR
The common cold can be caused by hundreds of different viruses, making it almost impossible to develop a one-shot-stops-all vaccine. But many of these viruses use the same molecular doorway to pry their way into our nasal cells, a protein called ICAM 1. Researchers have suspected that if they could flood the nose with counterfeit ICAM-1 molecules, they could block the virus invasion, and last year, and MUSC research team led by pediatrician Ronald Turner, M.D., did just that.
They recruited 177 volunteers who were willing to catch a cold for science -- all were given droplets of cold viruses in their nasal passages. Half the volunteers were also treated with a solution full of genetically engineered ICAM-1 molecules -- some prior to virus exposure and some after. The other half (the control group) received a sterile saline spray.
Although two-thirds of the control group got sick, only about half of the treated group got caught a cold, and of those that did, most had milder symptoms. Even those who received the ICAM-1 spray 12 hours after virus exposure experienced the same protective benefits.
As Dr. Turner cautions, this is far from a "cure". But the results are very promising, especially when you consider the fact that colds cost the country $10 billion a year in lost productivity. Colds are also an important contributing factor in children's ear infections and asthma attacks.
The next step? Dr. Turner's group is testing protein solutions on asthmatics and "normals" to see if its preventive action works when it is given long after viral exposure. They're also using their cold-testing methods to see if various minerals, vitamins and other agents have demonstrable cold -fighting properties.
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There is an accompanying full-page glossy photo of Dr. Turner placing a droplet of virus-containing solution in a research volunteers nasal passages. |
