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. 2004 Apr;15(2):79-88.
doi: 10.1016/j.ejim.2004.01.006.

The common cold: a review of the literature

Dennis Wat  1
Affiliations

The common cold: a review of the literature

Dennis Wat. Eur J Intern Med. 2004 Apr.

Abstract

Respiratory viral infections, also known as the common cold, are the most common infections in humans. Despite their benign nature, they are a major cause of morbidity and mortality on a worldwide basis. Several viruses have been associated with such illness, of which rhinovirus is the most common. Symptom production is a combination of viral cytopathic effect and the activation of inflammatory pathways. Therefore, antiviral treatment alone may not be able to prevent these events. The optimal use of such agents also requires earlier initiation; therefore, it is important to develop accurate and rapid diagnostic techniques for respiratory viruses. Before any reliable and effective treatment is available, symptomatic therapies may remain the only possible choice of management.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Principles of PCR. (1) DNA melts at 94 °C. (2) As DNA reanneals at 68 °C; the primers bind to the template. (3) As the temperature is raised to 72 °C, the DNA undergoes polymerisation due to Taq polymerase. (4) The first cycle is complete. The two new DNA strands make up the template DNA for the next cycle, thus doubling the amount of DNA duplicated for each cycle.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Principles of NASBA. (1) Reverse transcriptase (RT) extends primer A along target RNA to form DNA–RNA hybrid. (2) RNase degrades the RNA portion of DNA–RNA molecule. (3) Primer B binds to single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). (4) RT extends primer B to form a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). (5) dsDNA transcribed by T7 RNA polymerase to 50–1000 RNA transcripts. (6) Cycle to be repeated.
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