Iota-Carrageenan Is a Potent Inhibitor of Influenza A Virus Infection

The 2009 flu pandemic and the appearance of oseltamivir-resistant H1N1 influenza strains highlight the need for treatment alternatives. One such option is the creation of a protective physical barrier in the nasal cavity. In vitro tests demonstrated that iota-carrageenan is a potent inhibitor of influenza A virus infection, most importantly also of pandemic H1N1/2009 in vitro. Consequently, we tested a commercially available nasal spray containing iota-carrageenan in an influenza A mouse infection model. Treatment of mice infected with a lethal dose of influenza A PR8/34 H1N1 virus with iota-carrageenan starting up to 48 hours post infection resulted in a strong protection of mice similar to mice treated with oseltamivir. Since alternative treatment options for influenza are rare, we conclude that the nasal spray containing iota-carrageenan is an alternative to neuraminidase inhibitors and should be tested for prevention and treatment of influenza A in clinical trials in humans

Lessons learned from a double-blind randomised placebo-controlled study with a iota-carrageenan nasal spray as medical device in children with acute symptoms of common cold

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Common cold is caused by a variety of respiratory viruses. The prevalence in children is high, and it potentially contributes to significant morbidity. Iota-carragenan, a polymer derived from red seaweed, has reduced viral load in nasal secretions and alleviated symptoms in adults with common cold.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We have assessed the antiviral and therapeutic activity of a nasal spray containing iota-carrageenan in children with acute symptoms of common cold. A cohort of 153 children between 1–18 years (mean age 5 years), displaying acute symptoms of common cold were randomly assigned to treatment with a nasal spray containing iota-carrageenan (0.12%) as verum or 0.9% sodium chloride solution as placebo for seven days. Symptoms of common cold were recorded and the viral load of respiratory viruses in nasal secretions was determined at two consecutive visits.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results of the present study showed no significant difference between the iota carrageenan and the placebo group on the mean of TSS between study days 2–7. Secondary endpoints, such as reduced time to clearance of disease (7.6 vs 9.4 days; p = 0.038), reduction of viral load (p = 0.026), and lower incidence of secondary infections with other respiratory viruses (p = 0.046) indicated beneficial effects of iota-carrageenan in this population. The treatment was safe and well tolerated, with less side effects observed in the verum group compared to placebo.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this study iota-carrageenan did not alleviate symptoms in children with acute symptoms of common cold, but significantly reduced viral load in nasal secretions that may have important implications for future studies.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ISRCTN52519535, <url>http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN52519535/</url></p

The chirality theorem

We show how chirality of the weak interactions stems from string independence in the string-local formalism of quantum field theory.The European Union's Horizon~2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 690575The "Research in Pairs" program of the Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut OberwolfachUniversidad de Costa Rica/[820-B8-225]/UCR/Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Básicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de MatemáticaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de investigaciones Matemáticas y Metamatemáticas (CIMM