From: Eugen Leitl (eugen@leitl.org)
Date: Wed Nov 13 2002 - 12:18:51 MST
On Wed, 13 Nov 2002, Lee Daniel Crocker wrote:
> Zinc is completely useless, and "build up your immune system" is
I've just hit Medline briefly, and it's hard to say judging from a few
abstracts. Anyone with more interest and time could enter 'zinc'
'rhinovirus' (sans apostrophes) into
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi
(it get you 25 hits, though 'zinc' 'cold' gives you 383), and summarize
for the list.
1: Clin Infect Dis 2001 Dec 1;33(11):1865-70 Related Articles, Links
Comment in:
* Clin Infect Dis. 2002 Jun 15;34(12):1657.
Click here to read
Ineffectiveness of intranasal zinc gluconate for prevention of
experimental rhinovirus colds.
Turner RB.
Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina,
Charleston, SC, USA. rbt2n@virginia.edu
Zinc has generally been administered by the oral route in studies of
prevention or treatment of the common cold. The purpose of these studies
was to evaluate the effectiveness of intranasal zinc gluconate for
prevention of experimental rhinovirus infection and illness. Ninety-one
volunteers, 41 treated with active medication and 50 treated with placebo,
received study medication for 3 days, were inoculated with rhinovirus, and
then were treated with study medication for an additional 6 days.
Rhinovirus infection was documented in 37 (74%) of the 50 placebo-treated
volunteers and in 32 (78%) of the 41 volunteers treated with active
medication. Zinc treatment had no effect on total symptom score,
rhinorrhea, nasal obstruction, or the proportion of infected volunteers
who developed clinical colds. These data do not support a role for
intranasal zinc gluconate for prevention or treatment of the common cold.
Publication Types:
* Clinical Trial
* Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 11692298 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
J Interferon Cytokine Res 2001 Jul;21(7):471-4 Related Articles, Links
Click here to read
Zinc potentiates the antiviral action of human IFN-alpha tenfold.
Berg K, Bolt G, Andersen H, Owen TC.
The Interferon Laboratory, IMMI, The Panum Institute, The University
of Copenhagen, Denmark. k.berg@immi.ku.dk
During the last decade, various zinc salts have been used against the
common cold syndrome, which is known to be initiated by respiratory
viruses, particularly rhinoviruses. Using rhinovirus as the challenge
virus, we investigated whether zinc salts (Zn) could potentiate the
antiviral action of native human leukocyte interferon (HuIFN-alpha) and
rHuIFN-gamma. We found that HuIFN-alpha was potentiated tenfold at rather
low levels of IFN activity (0.6-0.8 U/ml), resulting in 100% protection.
Zn alone gave only marginal protection, if any. In contrast to
HuIFN-alpha, rHuIFN-gamma directly increased the cytopathic effect of
rhinovirus at low levels (<2 U/ml) but protected the cells at higher IFN
levels (5-20 U/ml). No potentiation was seen with Zn. HuIFN-beta protected
against rhinovirus at the same doses as used with HuIFN-alpha, but in
contrast to HuIFN-alpha, no potentiation was noted.
PMID: 11506740 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Am J Med 2001 Aug;111(2):103-8 Related Articles, Links
Click here to read
A randomized trial of zinc nasal spray for the treatment of upper
respiratory illness in adults.
Belongia EA, Berg R, Liu K.
Marshfield Medical Research Foundation and Marshfield Clinic,
Marshfield, Wisconsin 54449, USA.
PURPOSE: We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled
trial to evaluate the efficacy of 0.12% zinc sulfate nasal spray for
reducing the duration and severity of acute upper respiratory infections.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Patients with acute onset of upper respiratory
illness of less than 24 hours' duration were eligible for the study. A
nasopharyngeal swab was obtained at the time of enrollment for viral
culture. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 0.12% zinc
sulfate or isotonic placebo spray. The medication was administered as two
inhalations in each nostril four times a day. Each patient completed a
diary card twice a day to record oral temperature, symptoms, and adverse
effects. Symptoms were scored as absent (0), mild (1), moderate (2), or
severe (3). RESULTS: One hundred eighty-five subjects volunteered to
participate, and 160 met the criteria for enrollment. The median duration
of all symptoms was 7 days in both groups (P = 0.45), and the median
duration of nasal symptoms was 6 days in both groups (P= 0.12). After
adjustment for baseline differences in severity, patients receiving zinc
had a significant reduction in the total symptom score (P= 0.02) and the
nasal symptom score (P= 0.02) on day 1, but not on any of the other days.
Adverse effects were mild and had no significant association with the use
of zinc. A respiratory virus was identified in 9 of the 160 participants;
6 of these were rhinovirus. CONCLUSION: A low concentration of zinc
sulfate nasal spray had no effect on the duration of the common cold.
Publication Types:
* Clinical Trial
* Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 11498062 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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