A cure for the common cold

Research from Cambridge brings us closer

Have you read the papers today? With the unseasonable warm temperatures many fear that the common cold will run rife. There is no known cure for this annoying little virus and antibiotics do nothing to make it go away but the morning papers were full of the exciting news that researchers in Cambridge have discovered that antibodies are able to fight some viruses from within a cell. We had previously thought that antibodies did their work in the blood stream by stopping the viruses from reaching the cells but researchers have recently discovered a protein, TRIM21, that helps destroy a virus linked to upper respiratory infections, once it’s inside cells and coated with antibodies. This morning the newspapers and television news told us eagerly that this is a great step forward in finding a cure for the common cold. So when can we expect to have this treatment available? Well we'd better not count our chickens just yet. First they have to find a safe way of using this protein and then once they've done that, there will be years of testing and monitoring before we can cross the tissues off our shopping list.

So, in the meantime we need to continue with a prevention is better than cure approach. I rarely become infected by the rhinovirus, not because I'm an expert on the subject, but probably because I am getting on a bit and so have built up lots of immunity throughout my life! I think that 14 years of teaching primary school children has also helped to build this immunity! It is also evident, however, that by exercising regularly us runners are less likely to become infected.

A study published yesterday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reported that regular aerobic exercise may cut the risk of developing colds and other upper respiratory infections almost in half. Researchers at the American College of Sports Medicine followed 1,002 American adults, aged 18 to 85, during a 12-week period in 2008. They found that those people who said they exercised aerobically at least 5 times a week and/or who perceived themselves as being physically fit (the study didn’t actually assess their physical fitness) had up to 46 percent fewer days with a cold or other upper respiratory tract infection than people who exercised a maximum of one day a week or who thought themselves physically out of shape.

David C. Nieman, DrPH, FACSM, says that multiple studies have shown a 25- to 50-percent decrease in sick time for active people completing at least 45 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (such as walking or jogging) most days of the week. "This reduction in illness far exceeds anything a drug or pill can offer," Nieman said. "All it takes is a pair of walking shoes to help prevent becoming one of the thousands predicted to suffer from the common cold this winter."

As well as getting outside regularly for a run I also try to take precautions against catching a cold. I am an OCD hand washer, especially if I come into contact with anyone with a cold and if I get so much of an inkling of a sore throat I pop around 1000mg of vitamin C. Now this could have a placebo effect but it seems to work for me as the sore throat usually disappears over night. The Cochraine reviews looks at several trials to assess whether vitamin C can prevent and treat the common cold. In five trials with participants exposed to short periods of extreme physical stress (including marathon runners and skiers) vitamin C halved the common cold risk. One large trial with adults reported equivocal benefit from an 8 g therapeutic dose at the onset of symptoms, and two trials using five-day supplementation reported benefit. However, others showed no consistent effect on severity or duration of the cold so the conclusion is that more trials are necessary to settle the possible role of therapeutic vitamin C, meaning administration immediately after the onset of symptoms.

Although I often reach for the bottle (of vit C) at the first sign of a cold I know there is a concern over taking vitamin C this way. It is far healthier to go natural and get it from food. My sister swears by kiwi fruit - especially the golden ones. An average kiwi contains around 48mg of vitamin C and that is probably the highest concentrate you can get from food. It's more than half the recommended daily dose for adults but it's not just vitamin C that it gushes with either - they have massive amounts of potassium that is crucial for hydration and recovery and are high in vitamin E that can help protect us against the free radicals that can be caused by intense exercise.

So the moral of this story is - keep up the five a day because, for the time being, prevention is better than cure!