I laughed out loud when I heard this story on the news last evening. Well, actually, it was more like frustration -- why would the news media hype a possible cure? How naive is that? And then, of course, the reality of using headlines to "sell" the story occurred to me....
Sorry - I'm rambling - let me back up: It seems scientists have been able to identify some vulnerable genes in the common cold virus -- the rhinovirus. Once the genes are identified, for some diseases, that means the next step may be research to find a cure.
In the case of these rhinoviruses, however, there seem to be hundreds of them, so it's a lot like finding a vaccine for one needle in a large haystack of viruses. Who's to say they would find the one that would help the cold you caught?
But in America today, there are other reasons besides sheer numbers of genes that make a cure for the common cold impossible. They are based on two things we have learned over time:
1. No cure for the common cold will ever be made available to the public as long as America has a profit focused healthcare system. Too many businesses would lose money. Sales of over-the-counter drugs to help us cope with cold symptoms earn pharma companies billions of dollars each year. Not to mention tissues, rubs, and all that cold paraphernalia.
They want us to have colds! That's how they make money. If one person's cold is cured, then that person doesn't go to work, sneezing and coughing, touching coffee pots, telephones and door handles shared by others -- the cold couldn't be passed on to the next person who provides profit for those cold remedy companies.
That's the follow the money reason why we won't see a cure.
2. Even if scientists did figure out a way to kill all those viruses, I suspect (this is Trisha the very UNscientist making an educated guess) that those cold viruses would begin to act like the superbugs do. As we know, MRSA, c.diff, and other infections are so dangerous because they have evolved (thanks for explaining this Charles Darwin) to be stronger than the drugs developed to destroy them. If we realize that, then science would have to figure out a way not to let that happen. Who's to say the newly evolved cold virus wouldn't be a lot worse, and make people a lot sicker, than the original?
Colds will remain a fact of life, at least in the US, for a very long time. Let's not kid ourselves. But let that be a good reminder to keep washing our hands, covering our mouths, and doing all those good hygiene things -- plus eating right and getting plenty of sleep -- so we won't get those nasty germs that make us sick to begin with. You can learn much more from Kristina Duda, our About.com guide to Colds and Flu. |
PS. It would be remiss of me to fail to mention how much kids would hate it if all colds went away. It's the best excuse in the world for missing school, isn't it? Even if you don't have one, you need something to fake. So kids -- the pharma companies are on your side....
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Haha…I never thought a cold was a good enough excuse to get me out of work… I always found it more effective to fake more serious illnesses LOL
Well, I *wish* Big Pharma would find the cure for the cold, and then they could divert all those funds to develop cures for other diseases that are life-threatening: cancer, for instance! On the other hand, maybe the common cold is just Nature’s way of making us slow down temporarily.
A cure for the common cold is already in clinical trials, and from the same people that did the research that produced Relenza and was “borrowed” to develop Tamiflu.
Rhinoviruses access nasal cells by attaching to a receptor on the cell surface. Canyon-like clefts on the surface of the virus attach to the receptor and allow the virus to infect the cell. Biota is developing antiviral compounds which are designed to bind to these evolutionarily conserved clefts of HRV’s capsid shell and interfere with virus attachment to the targeted cell’s receptor.
Biota completed Phase I (single & multi-dose) clinical trial of its HRV drug, BTA798 in 2007 and is currenty conducting Phase IIa trials.
John — very interesting info — thank you for sharing.
To make the distinction – this is not a genetic approach, if I understand correctly? This is more like a (for lack of a better term) mechanical approach?
Regardless – I see a huge uproar from those drug makers who don’t want to see a cure. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out over the next several years.
Thanks so much for posting.
Trisha
Yes Trisha,
The same reasoning was used to discover Relenza. Find the binding site and plug it.
Later when Tamiflu was discovered there were more considerations,work around the patents resulting from Relenza, make it a pill, and plug the site. The compromises with Tamiflu resulted in a plug which needed to flex to fit. The scientific community always knew it was more prone to resistance.
There is a wonderful science fiction story – sorry I can’t recall the name or author at present – about finding a cure for the common cold. They discover too late that because colds are so pervasive, humans have adapted their sense of smell to accommodate it. They find that everyone has something of a cold all the time, and when it is gone, the acute sense of smell that appears – akin to that of a bloodhound – is unbearable (think body odor). Thus the scientists have to scramble to create a new super cold virus that is immune to their cure.
I’m still unpacking after a move; when I find the book this story is in (I’ll know which book it is), I’ll come back and post the title and author.
Thirty years ago it was on the news that within five years there would be a cure for common allergies… I’m still waiting. As long as it is more profitable to treat and not cure, we will keep ALL our diseases. That includes Cancer, Heart Disease, AIDS, Diabetes, etc. And as long as physicians continue receiving the perks for prescribing the flavor of the month, we will continue paying for it with our lives.