We do not yet have a cure for the common cold, but it appears that we’ve taken a big step in the right direction. The National Academy of Sciences has published a report about a discovery that changes the whole picture of how viruses and antibodies behave.
Up until now, scientists and immunologists believed that antibodies could only attack a virus when it was still outside the cells of the body. Now researchers have discovered that cells carry their own antiviral weapons inside the cell. Basically, it means that cells can cure themselves, so that antibodies attacking a virus don’t have to kill the cell that contains them.
Dr. Leo James, who led the research, said that the discovery paves the way to new and more effective ways of fighting off or lessening the effects of colds due to airborne viruses. Putting antibodies in a nasal spray or inhaler would presumably allow them to stick to a virus outside the cells and carry on the fight after the virus gets into those cells, without destroying the cell itself.
In addition, he believes that a kind of protein can be made that will bond with the antibodies to increase their infection-fighting ability. He said that such a protein could be non-specific, so it would fight any virus, not just one. Sir Greg Winters of the Medical Research Council called antibodies “formidable molecular war machines”, and said that the new studies are a great advance in understanding how infections and immunities work.
Though all this is very positive, another factor involved is one that requires little research or confirmation at this point. A healthy immune system requires proper nourishment and physical exercise. In general, active people get fewer and less severe colds than those who are sedentary.
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