Common Cold News and Research

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Obesity may be contagious!

Professor Nikhil Dhurandhar says a common cold virus can interfere with our normal body processes and make us fat - he has reached this rather astonishing conclusion following ten years of research with both animals and humans into the virus, Adenovirus-36.

27 Jan 2009

Less than seven hours of sleep may mean more colds

Individuals who get less than seven hours of sleep per night appear about three times as likely to develop respiratory illness following exposure to a cold virus as those who sleep eight hours or more, according to a report in the January 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Jan 2009

Natural product from red seaweed brings new antiviral spray

Marinomed Biotechnologie GmbH has been awarded the top prize in the Mercur 2008 innovation awards. This award to Marinomed honours the discovery of antiviral properties in a natural product and the rapid development of the discovery into a nasal spray for treating the common cold.

16 Dec 2008

Cymbalta (duloxetine HCl) shown to delay new episodes of depression

New data suggest that Cymbalta (duloxetine HCl) 60 mg to 120 mg once daily delayed the onset of a new episode of depression in patients who had previously responded to the medication and who had recurrent depressive disorder, defined in the study as those patients who experienced at least three depressive episodes in the previous five years, compared with placebo (p < .001).

14 Dec 2008

Hot drinks help fight cold and flu

A hot drink may help reduce the symptoms of common colds and flu, according to new research by Cardiff University's Common Cold Centre.

10 Dec 2008

If cold symptoms persist it could be sinusitis

If your stuffy nose and headache last for more than two weeks, it may be more serious than a cold.

1 Dec 2008

Clear seasonal variation in bacterial infections

In the same way that winter is commonly known to be the "flu season," a new study suggests that the dog days of summer may well be the "bacterial infection" season.

26 Nov 2008

Common cold virus originated in birds

A virus that causes cold-like symptoms in humans originated in birds and may have crossed the species barrier around 200 years ago, according to an article published in the December issue of the Journal of General Virology.

20 Nov 2008

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease sending more people to hospital

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has a higher hospitalization rate and a higher hospital readmission rate than heart failure, angina, and other serious chronic diseases.

17 Nov 2008

New advances in diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases

Researchers are presenting more than 450 abstracts on investigational findings in the diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases at the ACAAI Annual Meeting in Seattle, Nov. 6-11. Following are highlights of some key studies in allergy-immunology.

11 Nov 2008

T-cell-based strategy for HIV-1 vaccines still viable option

The question of whether or not to continue to pursue the development of T-cell-based HIV-1 vaccines has been a source of controversy following last year's widely publicized failure of the field's most promising candidate, a vaccine developed by Merck known as V520.

10 Nov 2008

Flu shot still best protection against flu

The failure of the flu vaccine to protect many Americans against the virus last year shouldn't prevent you from getting your annual flu shot this year.

6 Nov 2008

Study shows how HIV-1 vaccine trial could have enhanced HIV infection

In September 2007, a phase II HIV-1 vaccine trial was abruptly halted when researchers found that the vaccine may have promoted, rather than prevented, HIV infection.

4 Nov 2008

Human rhinovirus found to manipulate genes

Sneezing, runny nose and chills? You might blame the human rhinovirus (HRV), which causes 30 to 50 percent of common colds. But in reality, it's not the virus itself but HRV's ability to manipulate your genes that is the true cause of some of the most annoying cold symptoms.

26 Oct 2008

Transformation of ordinary cells into insulin-makers improves symptoms of diabetes

Scientists in the U.S. have successfully transformed ordinary cells into insulin-producing cells in a living mouse and thereby improved the symptoms of diabetes.

28 Aug 2008

New drug targets main culprit in common colds

The Melbourne drug company Biota has announced trials of a drug to treat the human rhinovirus (HRV) which is the main culprit in the common cold.

12 Aug 2008

Allergic rhinitis diagnosis and treatment: new guidelines for primary care professionals

Two complementary guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of allergic rhinitis are published in the August issue of the Allergy journal.

24 Jul 2008

Trial of new AIDS vaccine bites the dust

Plans to conduct a large-scale human trial of an experimental HIV/AIDS vaccine in the United States have bitten the dust.

21 Jul 2008

NIAID will not conduct the PAVE 100 HIV vaccine study

After soliciting and considering broad input from the scientific and HIV advocacy communities, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has determined that it will not conduct the HIV vaccine study known as PAVE 100.

17 Jul 2008

Researchers locate and image prostate cancer as it spreads to lymph nodes

Using an engineered common cold virus, UCLA researchers delivered a genetic payload to prostate cancer cells that allowed them, using Positron Emission Tomography (PET), to locate the diseased cells as they spread to the lymph nodes, the first place prostate cancer goes before invading other organs.

13 Jul 2008