New Approaches To Treating Colds

Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina, USA, have identified a relationship between interleukin-8 and rhinovirus infections. Ronald Turner and colleagues believe that drugs targeting IL-8 may offer new treatments for dealing with the common cold, beyond aspirin and bed rest.

At the 34th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Dr Turner presented results of studies in which nasal IL-8 concentrations were measured in volunteers after challenge with rhinovirus. "The common cold symptoms produced by rhinovirus infection appear to be a result of the host immune response to the virus, so that interruption of the production of IL-8 during infection may have a beneficial effect on symptoms," said Dr Turner.

IL-8 was detected in cell cultures and cultures of human adenoid tissues, as well as in nasal washes from volunteers. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes migrate to the nasal mucosa and appear in the nasal secretions during a cold, but this white cell response is not seen in infected patients who remain asymptomatic.