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Would you take a drug to reduce the duration of a cold by one day? Millions of people struck down every year by runny noses and sore throats may finally have more than Vitamin C and Zinc to turn to in their fight against the common cold. American scientists say they have almost developed an anti-viral drug which erases symptoms and is able to shorten a cold's duration. They hope it can go on sale in the United States by next autumn. The drug, called Pleconaril, targets a group of cold germs called picornaviruses, responsible for about two thirds of all common colds, by jamming the machinery it needs to enter the body's cells and infect them. Because the effects of colds are caused by the body's immune system reacting to the virus, slowing down the cold's ability to spread alleviates the symptoms. Dr Frederick Hayden of the University of Virginia told an infectious diseases conference in Chicago that the medicine starts making patients feel better within 24 hours and makes the cold disappear a day sooner than in untreated cases. Preliminary results in the study, which involved 2,096 patients, found that those whose colds were caused by picornaviruses recovered in 6.3 days if they took pleconaril three times a day for five days. The cold dragged on for 7.3 days in those who had a placebo. Harley Rotbart, a professor of pediatrics and microbiology who works for the drug's developers, ViroPharma, said: "If you've got a miserable cold, you're missing work and the kids are missing school, and you've got a medication that is non-sedating and attacks the root of the infection, that is significant." ViroPharma, which is based in Pennsylvania, applied to the Food and Drug Administration for approval to market the drug in July. A decision is expected next year and, if approved, it is planned to seek approval to market it internationally soon after. Dr. Cinque's comments: I have included this article only to make the point that you would have to be out of your mind to take a drug to reduce the duration of a cold by one day, which is all this drug purports to do. A cold is a remedial process, and fortunately, in the vast majority of cases, it ends in a complete resolution and recovery. The process is the cure. So why would you want to suppress it? Leave your body alone when you have a cold. Rest and sleep as much as possible, stay warm, drink fluids, fast or eat lightly, and wait for it to resolve by itself. Take nothing to suppress symptoms. The symptoms are not your enemy. Your body is working earnestly to get you well when you have a cold, so don't interfere. Sometimes, intelligently doing nothing is the right thing to do. E-mail to a friend Previous Article Next Article |
