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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2010 Aug 10;11(1):108.
doi: 10.1186/1465-9921-11-108.

Efficacy and safety of an antiviral Iota-Carrageenan nasal spray: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled exploratory study in volunteers with early symptoms of the common cold

Ron Eccles  1 , Christiane Meier, Martez Jawad, Regina Weinmüllner, Andreas Grassauer, Eva Prieschl-Grassauer
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Efficacy and safety of an antiviral Iota-Carrageenan nasal spray: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled exploratory study in volunteers with early symptoms of the common cold

Ron Eccles et al. Respir Res. .

Abstract

Background: The common cold, the most prevalent contagious viral disease in humans still lacks a safe and effective antiviral treatment. Iota-Carrageenan is broadly active against respiratory viruses in-vitro and has an excellent safety profile. This study investigated the efficacy and safety of an Iota-Carrageenan nasal spray in patients with common cold symptoms.

Methods: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled exploratory trial, 35 human subjects suffering from early symptoms of common cold received Iota-Carrageenan (0.12%) in a saline solution three times daily for 4 days, compared to placebo.

Results: Administration of Iota-Carrageenan nasal spray reduced the symptoms of common cold (p = 0.046) and the viral load in nasal lavages (p = 0.009) in patients with early symptoms of common cold. Pro-inflammatory mediators FGF-2, Fractalkine, GRO, G-CSF, IL-8, IL-1alpha, IP-10, IL-10, and IFN-alpha2 were reduced in the Iota-Carrageenan group.

Conclusions: Iota-Carrageenan nasal spray appears to be a promising treatment for safe and effective treatment of early symptoms of common cold. Larger trials are indicated to confirm the results.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram for study participants including demographic data.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean symptom scores over 7 days. Mean ± SEM for Carrageenan nasal spray (black squares) and Placebo (black triangles) treatment groups. A. Total symptom scores B. Local Symptom scores C. Systemic symptom scores. The y axis shows the study day; i indicates the point of inclusion into the study.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean individual symptom scores over 7 days. Mean individual symptom scores ± SEM for Carrageenan nasal spray (black squares) and Placebo (black triangles) treatment groups. The y axis shows the day of recording. The y axis shows the study day; i indicates the point of inclusion into the study.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relative viral load at day 3/4 in % of day 1. Shown is the relative viral load on day 3/4 in percent of the viral load on day 1. The mean of the ct values at visit 1 was set 100% for both Iota-Carrageenan and placebo and the percent of the ct values on day 3/4 was calculated as described in materials and methods. The ct numbers of Iota-Carrageenan and placebo samples of day 1 and day 3/4 were compared by applying a Mann-Whitney U-test (p = 0.009). The black bar shows Iota-Carrageenan and the grey bar shows placebo.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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