Chemotherapy of rhinovirus colds

Sperber, Steven J.; Hayden, Frederick G.

doi:10.1128/aac.32.4.409

Cited by 70 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…In fact, it was concluded by the authors that the results were entirely due to the placebo effect: "the effects demonstrated might be explained equally well by a break in the double blind" [15], and this was also forcefully emphasized in a concurrent review [16] written by Thomas Chalmers, one of the members of the Karlowski team. The "placebo explanation" of Karlowski's results has been reiterated in a major textbook on infectious diseases [12] and in several other commentaries on the vitamin Ccommon cold relationship [17][18][19]. The Karlowski study even led to a suggestion that the placebo effect could be a general explanation for benefits observed in other common cold studies [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Vitamin C, the placebo effect, and the common cold: A case study of how preconceptions influence the analysis of results

Hemilä

1996

Journal of Clinical Epidemiology

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A large number of placebo-controlled studies have shown that vitamin C supplementation alleviates the symptoms of the common cold, but widespread skepticism that vitamin C could have any significant effect remains. One of the most influential common cold studies, published in 1975, was carried out by Thomas Karlowski et al. at the National Institutes of Health. Their placebo consisted of lactose, which can easily be distinguished from ascorbic acid by taste. Karlowski et al. found a 17% decrease in the duration of cold episodes in the group administered vitamin C (6 g/day); however, they suggested that the decrease was entirely due to the placebo effect. In this article it will be shown that the placebo effect is not a valid explanation for the results of the Karlowski study, as it is inconsistent with their results. This is an important conclusion for two reasons. First, the placebo explanation becomes even more unreasonable as regards the reported benefits found in several other studies with valid placebo tablets. Second, as the results from the Karlowski study are not due to the placebo effect, their results can be used to assess the quantitative effects of vitamin C supplementation. The most important conclusions from Karlowski's study are that therapeutic vitamin C supplementation during a common cold episode appears to be as effective as regular supplementation, and that there appears to be linear dose dependency at least up to 6 g/day. These findings suggest that large therapeutic vitamin C doses might alleviate the symptoms of the common cold substantially.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Vitamin C, the placebo effect, and the common cold: A case study of how preconceptions influence the analysis of results

Hemilä

1996

Journal of Clinical Epidemiology

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“…Six of the eight studies found that the duration or severity of colds was decreased by more than 20% in the vitamin group, suggesting that the effect may be of practical importance. Nevertheless, there has been great quantitative variation in the results, hampering the evaluation of the clinical significance of vitamin C in treating colds (Table I; Although placebo-controlled trials have consistently found benefit from vitamin C on common cold symptoms, a widespread belief that the vitamin has no real effects on the common cold still remains (20)(21)(22). In this paper we shall briefly analyze three of the most influential reviews which have concluded that vitamin C has no proven effects on the common cold (23)(24)(25), in order to expose their major shortcomings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vitamin C supplementation and common cold symptoms: Problems with inaccurate reviews

Hemilä

1996

Nutrition

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In 1971, Linus Pauling carried out a meta-analysis of four placebo-controlled trials and concluded that it was highly unlikely that the decrease in the "integrated morbidity of the common cold" in vitamin C groups was caused by chance alone (P < 0.00003). Studies carried out since then have consistently found that vitamin C ( 1 g/d) alleviates common cold symptoms, indicating that the vitamin does indeed have physiologic effects on colds. However, widespread conviction that the vitamin has no proven effects on the common cold still remains. Three of the most influential reviews drawing this conclusion are considered in the present article. Two of them are cited in the current edition of the RDA nutritional recommendations as evidence that vitamin C is ineffective against colds. In this article, these three reviews are shown to contain serious inaccuracies and shortcomings, making them unreliable sources on the topic. The second purpose is to suggest possible conceptual reasons for the persistent resistance to the notion that vitamin C might have effects on colds. Although placebo-controlled trials have shown that vitamin C does alleviate common cold symptoms, important questions still remain.

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“…Infection of the upper respiratory tract by members of the human rhinovirus (HRV) group represents perhaps the most common viral affliction of humans, accounting for some 40 to 60% of common colds (Rueckert, 1987). While these infections are often mild and self-limiting, severe disease can occur in subjects predisposed to respiratory problems, such as asthmatics (Sperber & Hayden, 1988). From an economic standpoint, rhinovirus infections of humans represent a significant health problem in terms of numbers of physicians' office visits, costs associated with symptomatic treatments and days lost from work and schooL…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antipicornavirus Drugs: Current Status

Diana¹,

Dc²

1997

Antivir Chem Chemother

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SummaryConsiderable efforts have been made over the past several years to discover a broad-spectrum antipicornavirus agent. The X-ray crystal structure of several rhinovirus serotypes, as well as a coxsackievirus, has provided valuable information with respect to the virus structure as well as the location of the binding site of several capsid-binding compounds. This has aided in the design of broad-spectrum compounds. Several potential drug candidates have reached clinical status and some progress has been made in achieving efficacy. However, none of these compounds has as yet become a marketable drug. This review summarizes the current status of efforts in this area.

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Chemotherapy of rhinovirus colds

Cited by 70 publications

References 107 publications

Vitamin C, the placebo effect, and the common cold: A case study of how preconceptions influence the analysis of results

Vitamin C, the placebo effect, and the common cold: A case study of how preconceptions influence the analysis of results

Vitamin C supplementation and common cold symptoms: Problems with inaccurate reviews

Antipicornavirus Drugs: Current Status

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