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October 13, 2006

Curing the Common Cold

Through-out history, the common cold has been treated in a number of ways.  Ancient Romans drank onion broth to relieve symptoms. Twefth century Egyptian physicians recommended chicken soup (reportedly learned from the ancient Greeks). Colonial Americans drank tea or herbal concoctions of sage, hyssop, goldenseal, bloodroot, black cohosh and buckthorn (among others). This eventually evolved into honey and lemon. In a last ditch effort to relieve symptoms, a hot toddy laced with rum has also been served.

While some of these remedies may relieve suffering, none actually comes remotely close to curing or preventing a cold.

However, for some colds, namely those originating in a Rhinoviruses infection, there is a treatment that has been show to be effective.  You see, the Rhinovirus entry point is through the upper respiratory tract where it is transported to the back of the throat. Once there, the virus attaches to cell surface receptors known as Intercellular Adhesion Molecule- 1 (ICAM-1), and infection begins.  

The binding site for the ICAM-1receptor is actually in a small crevice on the outside of the virus known as a binding pocket.  As it turns out, zinc is also able to bind in this pocket and once bound, the zinc physically blocks access to the binding pocket. 

Here, then, is the conclusion:

While zinc treatment is not recommended for daily use to prevent colds, if used at any point during a rhinoviral infection, it will prevent the propagation of infection. The zinc does so by blocking the binding pockets of virus shed following initial infection. There are drawbacks to this treatment. For instance, zinc is only effective in preventing rhinoviral infection and therefore will not shorten the length of those colds caused by other viruses (half of all colds). Also, an oral dose of zinc is ineffective. This is because the zinc must come into contact with rhinoviruses to inactivate them, and that will not happen if the zinc is in the bloodstream and the rhinovirus is in the nasal passages. Despite the limitations, the zinc treatment may represent a major step forward in the fight against the common cold.

Posted by Diabetologica at October 13, 2006 6:33 PM