HEALTH
Here’s Looking
A-choo, Kid
Scientists are studying the common cold harder
than ever, getting closer to controls, if not
a cure. Rx in the meantime: use uncommon sense
A little honking and wheezing, please:
it’s time, once again, for a rerun of
that horror classic. Attack of the
Rhinovirus. Rhino is Greek for nose, and
the all-too-common cold is caused by more
than a hundred different forms of this
virus ('olds are perennial and incurable,
zapping legions of students every fall. Sci
entists say it’s not that the autumnal chill
niust’s the yearly cold epidemic; it’s just
that the brisk temperatures drive humans
indoors, where they infect each other And
what better place for the rhinovirus to get
around than in crowded college dorms, din
ing halls and classrooms?
Suitably enough, universities are now
developing an arsenal of high-tech weap
ons such as interferon, monoclonal anti
bodies and antiviral drugs. It will be years,
however, before we know if these* potions
really work or whether they will prove
more toxic than the cold itself. The problem
is that viruses are slippery devils. Tiny
protein-coated bits of genetic matter, they
hardly qualify as living things Many viral
diseases—such as polio and measles—are
prevented with vaccines. Rut the sheer
number of viruses that cause colds rnakcsa
vaccine close to impossible Knch season
brings another variety to look forward to:
after the fall rhinoviruses come winter's
coronaviruses and parainfluenza viruses,
fol lowed by the adenovi ruses of spri ng And
in summer the coxsackieviruses and echo
viruses cause colds accompanied by fever.
"We don't know why certain cold viruses
have certain seasons," admits Dr. Klliott C.
Dick, virologist at the University of
Wisconsin.
As if suffering from their own sniffles
weren’t enough, scientists are subjecting
student guinea pigs to all manner of indig
nities. Dr Jack M. Gwaltney Jr. and his
colleagues at the University of Virginia
give volunteers a new drug or placebo, drop
the virus in their noses, then watch to see if
the virus hits made itself at home. Students
deposit their used tissues in a special plas
tic container. The tissues are weighed "to
tell how much nasal mucus they’ve pro
duced," says Gwaltney. "It's a nice job."
One of the most successful drugs being
tested at UVa is interferon, a nutural sub
stance released by infected cells that has
been used in the war on cancer. But it’s
expensive und irritates the nasal mem
branes. The UVa team has also been test
ing the preventive capabilities of mono
clonal antibodies, which are cloned in the
lab from natural antibodies. They block the
receptor sites on the cells in the nasal pas
sages where the virus would normally at
tach itself. In the first trial the antibodies
delayed the onset of the cold but did not
prevent it. "This strategy is in a stage of
relatively early development," says Gwalt
ney. "The effect is not marked compared to
interferon, but it might well be safer and
better tolerated."
The search for antiviral drugs is being
aided by knowledge about the three-dimen
sional structure of the rhinovirus. It looks
something like a soccer ball, with 20 trian
gular sides. Last year a team of researchers
led by Michael G. Rossman at Purdue re
vealed that each side has peaks and valleys
caused by the irregular shape of the protein
molecules. This fall the Purdue team re
ported on two drugs that can nestle intoone
of the valleys on the protein coat and keep
the virus from releasing its genetic materi
al and replicating. One of the drugs, called
WIN 51711, has reached the stage of being
tested for side effects.
Vitamin C: ()t course, there are still those
who believe that home remedies are best
and that the cold can be fought with every
day vitamins and minerals. One of the most
eminent scientists of our time, Nobel Prize
winner Linus Pauling, advocates large
doses of vitamin C. However, other re
searchers have not verified his claims that
this strategy prevents or shortens colds
Meanwhile, the newest "natural” remedy
is sucking on zinc lozenges. One study by
Texas entrepreneur George Eby found t hat
zinc shortened the duration of colds, and
Gwaltney’s team is trying to repeat the
study; the drawback is that the lozenges
taste horrific and may cause nausea.
Experts recommend that you treat each
cold symptom with a different over-the
counter remedy, rather than taking a pill
that contains a little of everything. "Multi
pie-ingredient remedies are not as effec
tive, because the concentrations of individ