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Believers of old folk wisdom now have scientific evidence to support the idea that cold weather or drafts makes people more susceptible to the common cold.
Yale News is reporting that a team of Yale researchers have published a report that lower temperature in the nasal cavity diminishes the body's immune response, reducing the ability to ward off rhinovirus.
They found that the innate immune response to the rhinovirus is impaired at the lower body temperature compared to the core body temperature. The reason for the impairment is the lower production of Type I Interferon in the cooler nasal cavities. Type I Interferon is a signaling agent to signal the body's antiviral immune responses. With reduced immune response the rhinovirus is more able to establish a foot hold.
"The study also strongly suggested that the varying temperatures influenced the immune response, rather than the virus itself" said study senior author and Yale professor of immunobiology Akiko Iwasaki.
The study abstract (paywalled) at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explains that rhinovirus, the most frequent cause of the common cold, replicate better at the cooler temperatures (33°C) found in the nasal cavity than at lung temperature (37°C), but previously the underlying mechanisms for this difference were not known. The principal discovery is the reduced interferon signaling at cooler nasal temperatures.
One would think that the Asian tradition of wearing surgical masks when they have a cold might be more effective if worn before they catch a cold.
(Score: 1) by gumpish on Sunday January 11 2015, @05:59AM
"One would think that the Asian tradition of wearing surgical masks when they have a cold might be more effective if worn before they catch a cold."
Sooooo you're imagining everyone in public wearing surgical masks at all times? Seems a bit silly.
Wearing hazmat suits at all times would also be more effective at preventing the spread of colds.
At least sick Asians wearing masks are doing more to prevent the spread of disease than contagious Westerners who don't think twice about riding mass transit while coughing and sneezing.
And I can assure you that those surgical masks are far more effective at keeping microbes IN (preventing aerosol projection) than they are at keeping microbes OUT (preventing inhalation of some else's spray), after all, that's what they're designed for - preventing surgeons from getting germs on their patients.