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Prevention of the common cold with topical nasal Carrageenan

Year:
2014
Duration:
20 months
Approved budget:
$98,613.69
Researchers:
Professor Julian Crane
Health issue:
Infectious disease
Proposal type:
Feasibility Study
Lay summary
We propose a feasibility randomised control trial (RCT) to investigate the novel antiviral efficacy of topical nasal Iota Carageenan as a protective agent against the development of colds caused by rhinovirus. We hypothesise that the regular prophylactic administration of Iota Carageenan will reduce the incidence of symptomatic rhinovirus infections by blocking the binding of virus particles to nasal epithelial cells, as demonstrated in in-vitro studies. If successful, the feasibility study data will be used as the basis of a larger HRC application to examine whether Iota Carageenan can reduce rhinovirus infections among at-risk asthmatic patients.