A University of Calgary scientist confirms that it is how our immune system responds, not the rhinovirus itself, that causes cold symptoms. Of more than 100 different viruses that can cause the common cold, human rhinoviruses are the major cause.
The research, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, is the first study to comprehensively review gene changes in rhinovirus. “The study’s findings are a major step toward more targeted cold prevention and treatment strategies while also serving as a valuable roadmap for the broader respiratory science community,” says David Proud, PhD, a professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the Faculty of Medicine, and lead author of the study.
Proud adds that while colds are usually considered to be minor infections of the nose and throat, they can have much more serious health repercussions. “Rhinovirus is the major cause of the common cold, but it is also an important pathogen in more serious conditions, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),” Proud says.
For example, children who get recurrent rhinovirus-induced wheezing in early life are 10 times more likely to develop asthma. Rhinovirus infections are also a major cause of acute attacks of asthma and COPD and, therefore, exert a huge impact on health care costs.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081029101201.htm
