THE COMMON COLD—FACT AND FANCY

A great deal of folklore, superstition and emotional reaction is attached to the common cold, but established objective information is quite limited. The evidence concerning etiology, epidemiology, physiology, prevention and treatment of the common cold is briefly summarized and critically evaluated. There is disappointing lack of real progress in any of these aspects of the common cold problem.     

Cross-cultural perspectives on physician and lay models of the common cold

We compare physicians and laypeople within and across cultures, focusing on similarities and differences across samples, to determine whether cultural differences or lay-professional differences have a greater effect on explanatory models of the common cold. Data on explanatory models for the common cold were collected from physicians and laypeople in South Texas and Guadalajara, Mexico. Structured interview materials were developed on the basis of open-ended interviews with samples of lay informants at each locale. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information from each sample on causes, symptoms, and treatments for the common cold. Consensus analysis was used to estimate the cultural beliefs for each sample. Instead of systematic differences between samples based on nationality or level of professional training, all four samples largely shared a single-explanatory model of the common cold, with some differences on subthemes, such as the role of hot and cold forces in the etiology of the common cold. An evaluation of our findings indicates that, although there has been conjecture about whether cultural or lay-professional differences are of greater importance in understanding variation in explanatory models of disease and illness, systematic data collected on community and professional beliefs indicate that such differences may be a function of the specific illness. Further generalizations about lay-professional differences need to be based on detailed data for a variety of illnesses, to discern patterns that may be present. Finally, a systematic approach indicates that agreement across individual explanatory models is sufficient to allow for a community-level explanatory model of the common cold.     

Efficacy and safety of an antiviral Iota-Carrageenan nasal spray: a randomized,double-blind,placebo-controlled exploratory study in volunteers with early symptoms of the common cold

Background

The common cold, the most prevalent contagious viral disease in humans still lacks a safe and effective antiviral treatment. Iota-Carrageenan is broadly active against respiratory viruses in-vitro and has an excellent safety profile. This study investigated the efficacy and safety of an Iota-Carrageenan nasal spray in patients with common cold symptoms.

Methods

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled exploratory trial, 35 human subjects suffering from early symptoms of common cold received Iota-Carrageenan (0.12%) in a saline solution three times daily for 4 days, compared to placebo.

Results

Administration of Iota-Carrageenan nasal spray reduced the symptoms of common cold (p = 0.046) and the viral load in nasal lavages (p = 0.009) in patients with early symptoms of common cold. Pro-inflammatory mediators FGF-2, Fractalkine, GRO, G-CSF, IL-8, IL-1α, IP-10, IL-10, and IFN-α2 were reduced in the Iota-Carrageenan group.

Conclusions

Iota-Carrageenan nasal spray appears to be a promising treatment for safe and effective treatment of early symptoms of common cold. Larger trials are indicated to confirm the results.     

Cold urticaria: case series and literature review

Cold urticaria is one of the five most common causes of chronic urticaria and is grouped as a physical urticaria. It can occur after exposure to cold, either through solid objects, air or liquids. Patients may have symptoms of urticaria, angioedema, respiratory distress and even anaphylaxis when the skin is exposed to a cold environment, such as handling refrigerated objects, swimming in cold water or entering an air-conditioned room. Five cases of cold urticaria are presented, followed by a brief literature review.     

华南地区龙眼寒害灾损风险评估

基于华南地区64个基本气象站1961—2012年逐日气象资料,采用公认的龙眼寒害灾害指标,结合农业气象灾害风险研究的方法与模拟技术,并考虑龙眼寒害灾损减产风险在不同生育期（花芽生理期、花芽形态分化期、休眠期）之间的差别,对1961—2012年华南地区龙眼不同发育时段的寒害灾损最大风险进行定量评估与分析.结果表明： 在花芽生理期,各地区龙眼受灾最严重的是轻度寒害,其次为重度寒害,最后为中度寒害;不同寒害致灾等级对各地龙眼造成的危害程度不同,在轻度寒害威胁下,龙眼受灾轻重次序为福建、广东和海南、广西,中度寒害威胁下,龙眼受灾轻重次序为海南、广东和广西、福建,重度寒害威胁下,龙眼受灾轻重次序为海南、广东和广西、福建.在花芽形态分化期,各地区龙眼受灾最严重的是轻度寒害,其次为重度寒害,最后为中度寒害;该时段内不同寒害致灾等级对各地龙眼造成的危害程度相似,龙眼受灾轻重次序均为海南、广东和广西、福建.在休眠期,各地区龙眼寒害受灾最严重的是轻度寒害,其次为重度寒害,最后为中度寒害;该时段内不同寒害致灾等级对各地龙眼造成的危害程度不完全相同,轻度和重度寒害威胁下,各地龙眼受灾轻重次序为海南、广东和广西、福建,中度寒害威胁下,海南和广西龙眼受灾最轻,其次为广东,福建受灾最严重.同一寒害致灾等级下,不同发育时段龙眼寒害灾损减产最大风险指数差异显著：轻度寒害威胁下,各地区龙眼在花芽生理期受到危害最重,其次为花芽形态分化期,休眠期危害最轻;中度和重度寒害威胁下,各地区龙眼在花芽生理期受到危害最重,其次为休眠期,花芽形态分化期危害最轻.     

Echinaforce and other Echinacea fresh plant preparations in the treatment of the common cold. A randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind clinical trial.

The aim of this randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of different doses and preparations of Echinacea purpurea in the treatment of common cold. 246 of 559 recruited healthy, adult volunteers caught a common cold and took 3 times daily 2 tablets of either Echinaforce (Echinacea purpurea-preparation from 95% herba and 5% radix), Echinacea purpurea concentrate (same preparation at 7 times higher concentration), special Echinacea purpurea radix preparation (totally different from that of Echinaforce) or placebo until they felt healthy again but not longer than 7 days. The primary endpoint was the relative reduction of the complaint index defined by 12 symptoms during common cold according to the doctor's record. Echinaforce and its concentrated preparation were significantly more effective than the special Echinacea extract or placebo. All treatments were well tolerated. Among the Echinacea groups the frequency of adverse events was not significantly higher than in the placebo group. Therefore, Echinacea concentrate as well as Echinaforce represent a low-risk and effective alternative to the standard symptomatic medicines in the acute treatment of common cold.     

Responses to cold shock in cyanobacteria

Acclimation of cyanobacteria to low temperatures involves induction of the expression of several families of genes. Fatty acid desaturases are responsible for maintaining the appropriate fluidity of membranes under stress conditions. RNA-binding proteins, which presumably act analogously to members of the bacterial Csp family of RNA chaperones, are involved in the maintenance of the translation under cold stress. The RNA helicase, whose expression is induced specifically by cold, might be responsible for modifying inappropriate secondary structures of RNAs induced by cold. The cold-inducible family of CIp proteins appears to be involved in the proper folding and processing of proteins. Although genes for cold-inducible proteins in cyanobacteria are heterogeneous, some common features of their untranslated regulatory regions suggest the existence of a common factor(s) that might participate in regulation of the expression of these genes under cold-stress conditions. Studies of the patterns of expression of cold-inducible genes in cyanobacteria have revealed the presence of a cold-sensing mechanism that is associated with their membrane lipids. Available information about cold-shock responses in cyanobacteria and molecular mechanisms of cold acclimation are reviewed in this article.     

Protective action of aromatic compounds against cold-shock injuries in boar spermatozoa.

Butylated hydroxytoluene has been known to protect spermatozoa from cold shock injury. To determine whether such protective action is a common property of aromatic compounds, the effect of 14 hydrophobic and 2 hydrophilic aromatic compounds on the protection of boar spermatozoa from cold shock was investigated. The majority of the hydrophobic compounds tested provided protection; the hydrophilic compounds were ineffective. Of the aromatic compounds tested, naphthalene was most effective in reducing the effect of cold shock on motility and acrosomal integrity of boar spermatozoa.     

Chinese Proprietary Herbal Medicine Listed in ‘China National Essential Drug List’ for Common Cold: A Systematic Literature Review

Objective

Chinese proprietary herbal medicines (CPHMs) have long history in China for the treatment of common cold, and lots of them have been listed in the ‘China national essential drug list’ by the Chinese Ministry of Health. The aim of this review is to provide a well-round clinical evidence assessment on the potential benefits and harms of CPHMs for common cold based on a systematic literature search to justify their clinical use and recommendation.

Methods

We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, SinoMed, CNKI, VIP, China Important Conference Papers Database, China Dissertation Database, and online clinical trial registry websites from their inception to 31 March 2013 for clinical studies of CPHMs listed in the ‘China national essential drug list’ for common cold. There was no restriction on study design.

Results

A total of 33 CPHMs were listed in ‘China national essential drug list 2012’ for the treatment of common cold but only 7 had supportive clinical evidences. A total of 6 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and 7 case series (CSs) were included; no other study design was identified. All studies were conducted in China and published in Chinese between 1995 and 2012. All included studies had poor study design and methodological quality, and were graded as very low quality.

Conclusions

The use of CPHMs for common cold is not supported by robust evidence. Further rigorous well designed placebo-controlled, randomized trials are needed to substantiate the clinical claims made for CPHMs.     

Influence of cold and carbon dioxide anaesthesia on the susceptibility of adults of Ceratitis capitata to malathion

Insect immobilization by several methods: cold, ether, chloroform, or more recently CO₂, is a common practice in toxicological studies to facilitate insect handling (Harris et al., 1965). FAO (1969) recommends the use of both cold and carbon dioxide.     

Glycopeptide in sputum from allergic asthma patients

The glycopeptide and glycosaminoglycan content of sputa from allergic asthma, bronchiectasis, and common cold patients was assayed. The glycopeptide content was higher in sputum from allergic asthma patients than that in bronchiectasis and common cold patients, while no significant difference in the glycosaminoglycan content was detected among these materials. Fractionation of the glycopeptide by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography yielded four glycopeptide fractions at concentrations of 0.05 to 0.3 M NaCl from the allergic asthma samples, whereas it yielded three fractions at concentrations of 0.05 to 0.2 M NaCl from the bronchiectasis and common cold samples. They were characterized by increases in sialic acid and sulfate as the molarity of NaCl increased. Hexose was the main component and hexosamine was the next in each fraction from all materials. The increase in sputum glycopeptide in the allergic asthma samples was due to a large increase in sialic acid- and sulfate-rich glycopeptide.     

Effects and safety of herbal medicines among community-dwelling residents during COVID-19 pandemic: A large prospective,randomized controlled trial (RCT)

BackgroundSince the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, countries are struggling with a shortage of medical capacities. It would be essential if the risk for preventable comorbidities, such as the common cold, can be reduced or prevented, so that the scarce medical resources and facilities can be focused on COVID-19.PurposeTo evaluate the effects of two herbal medicines (Jinhaoartemisia antipyretic granules and Huoxiangzhengqi oral liquids) in reducing the risk of the common cold in community-dwelling residents in China during the COVID-19 outbreak.Study DesignA prospective open-label, parallel-group, cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT), was conducted in Chengdu, China.MethodsA total of 22,065 participants from 11 communities were recruited during a period of one month. The trial started on 30 January and participants were followed up till 29 February 2020. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a five-day herbal medicine therapy plus a reference manual or a reference manual only if they were allocated to the control group. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of patient-reported common cold symptoms. The secondary endpoint was the time in days from the receipt of herbal drugs/reference manual and the occurrence of the common cold symptoms.ResultsUse of herbal medicine reduced the risk of the common cold by 89.6% (95% CI, 52.9% to 97.7%) in all community-dwelling residents, and by 94.0% (95% CI, 52.1% to 99.2%) in residents aged between 16 and 59 years old. Sensitivity analyses showed similar results.ConclusionThis community-based RCT found that the use of a herbal medicine therapy (Jinhaoartemisia antipyretic granules and Huoxiangzhengqi oral liquids) could significantly reduce the risks of the common cold among community-dwelling residents, suggesting that herbal medicine may be a useful approach for public health intervention to minimize preventable morbidity during COVID-19 outbreak.     

微生物产生的冷休克蛋白研究进展

冷休克蛋白(cold shock protein,Csp)首先在大肠杆菌中发现,它与微生物对冷环境的适应及多种细胞功能有关。冷休克蛋白基因是一段编码70个左右氨基酸的DNA序列,在这段序列中有5′非翻译区(5′UTR)、冷盒及下游盒等特征。冷休克蛋白作为DNA或RNA结合蛋白在基因表达调控过程中起重要作用。冷休克蛋白在转录、mRNA稳定性及翻译等几个水平上被严格调控。     

Lycopene ameliorates thermal hyperalgesia and cold allodynia in STZ-induced diabetic rat

Peripheral neuropathy is one of the common complications of diabetes mellitus. It is frequently associated with debilitating pain. The present study was designed to investigate effect of Lycopene, a carotenoid found in tomatoes, on hyperalgesia and cold allodynia in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. After 4-weeks of STZ injection, diabetic mice exhibited a significant thermal hyperalgesia cold allodynia, hyperglycemia and loss of body weights as compared with control rats. Chronic treatment of lycopene for 4 weeks significantly attenuated the cold allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia. The results emphasize the role of antioxidant such as lycopene as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy.     

May nasal hyperreactivity be a sequela of recurrent common cold?

Respiratory viral infections may worsen bronchial hyperreactivity. However, there is no data on the possible role of recurrent infectious rhinitis in nose hyperreactivity. This study was therefore designed to investigate whether subjects suffering from recurrent common cold have nasal hyperreactivity, assessed by histamine nasal challenge. This study included a group of 40 patients (19 males, mean age 34.1 years) with history of at least five episodes of common cold in the previous year, but without documented allergy, and twenty healthy subjects (8 males, mean age 32.3 years) were enrolled as control group, all of whom were non-allergic. Nasal provocation test with histamine was performed in all subjects. Nasal provocation test with histamine induced a 200% increase in nasal resistance after provocation in 24 (60%) patients suffering from recurrent viral rhinitis. No normal subject had an increase >180% in nasal resistance. There was a significant difference between the patient group and the control group (p<0.05). In conclusion, this study shows that nasal hyperreactivity might be a sequela of recurrent common cold. Further studies should be conducted to confirm this preliminary finding.     

New insights into the genetic basis of natural chilling and cold shock tolerance in rice by genome‐wide association analysis

In order to understand cold adaptability and explore additional genetic resources for the cold tolerance improvement of rice, we investigated the genetic variation of 529 rice accessions under natural chilling and cold shock stress conditions at the seedling stage using genome‐wide association studies; a total of 132 loci were identified. Among them, 12 loci were common for both chilling and cold shock tolerance, suggesting that rice has a distinct and overlapping genetic response and adaptation to the two stresses. Haplotype analysis of a known gene OsMYB2, which is involved in cold tolerance, revealed indica–japonica differentiation and latitude tendency for the haplotypes of this gene. By checking the subpopulation and geographical distribution of accessions with tolerance or sensitivity under these two stress conditions, we found that the chilling tolerance group, which mainly consisted of japonica accessions, has a wider latitudinal distribution than the chilling sensitivity group. We conclude that the genetic basis of natural chilling stress tolerance in rice is distinct from that of cold shock stress frequently used for low‐temperature treatment in the laboratory and the cold adaptability of rice is associated with the subpopulation and latitudinal distribution.     

Ciguatoxins activate specific cold pain pathways to elicit burning pain from cooling

Ciguatoxins are sodium channel activator toxins that cause ciguatera, the most common form of ichthyosarcotoxism, which presents with peripheral sensory disturbances, including the pathognomonic symptom of cold allodynia which is characterized by intense stabbing and burning pain in response to mild cooling. We show that intraplantar injection of P-CTX-1 elicits cold allodynia in mice by targeting specific unmyelinated and myelinated primary sensory neurons. These include both tetrodotoxin-resistant, TRPA1-expressing peptidergic C-fibres and tetrodotoxin-sensitive A-fibres. P-CTX-1 does not directly open heterologously expressed TRPA1, but when co-expressed with Na_v channels, sodium channel activation by P-CTX-1 is sufficient to drive TRPA1-dependent calcium influx that is responsible for the development of cold allodynia, as evidenced by a large reduction of excitatory effect of P-CTX-1 on TRPA1-deficient nociceptive C-fibres and of ciguatoxin-induced cold allodynia in TRPA1-null mutant mice. Functional MRI studies revealed that ciguatoxin-induced cold allodynia enhanced the BOLD (Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent) signal, an effect that was blunted in TRPA1-deficient mice, confirming an important role for TRPA1 in the pathogenesis of cold allodynia.     

Attitudes toward specific therapies

Attitudes of the physician and attitudes of the patient may affect the rational use of specific therapies. An example is the use of penicillin for the common cold. A survey showed that 25 per cent of physicians and 16 per cent to 22 per cent of three other groups polled had received penicillin for a cold, although there is no rational basis for such therapy. Evaluation of both the physicians' and patients' attitudes toward specific therapies might lead to a more rational treatment of the patient as a total personality.