Cold Wars: The Fight against the Common Cold
http://www.100md.com
《新英格兰医药杂志》
In Cold Wars: The Fight against the Common Cold, Tyrrell and Fielder take the reader through the long history of the battle against this recalcitrant foe. The story is partly medical history, partly a brief overview for general readers of concepts in virology, partly an exposition of the philosophy of scientific undertakings, but mostly the scientific autobiography of a remarkable man. Tyrrell's career has touched on almost every aspect of modern respiratory virology — the initial propagation of rhinoviruses in cell culture, the discovery of coronaviruses, the assessment of the clinical features of adenovirus infections, the evaluation of the antiviral effects of interferons and other antiviral agents used to combat rhinoviruses in humans, and the exploration of the relation among psychological stress, the immune system, and susceptibility to viral infection.
Tyrrell's career was intimately intertwined with the Common Cold Unit, a unique institution devoted entirely to the study of the causes and treatment of this ailment, and the book is therefore also an institutional history of the unit. Central to this effort to understand and treat the common cold were studies in which healthy volunteers were housed at the Common Cold Unit for two weeks or so and inoculated with preparations of cold viruses. Because there are no animal models for rhinoviruses and many other cold viruses, the use of human volunteers turned out to be critical in determining the causes of colds and evaluating therapies.
The book begins with an overview of the history of the common cold, theories about its cause, and an account of the many unusual remedies applied to help sufferers. Understanding of the potential cause of colds paralleled the development of the germ theory and the discovery of viruses as causes of other illnesses. We learn how the Common Cold Unit began as a hospital for the treatment of infectious disease, which was established in Britain by Harvard University at the very beginning of World War II, then was transferred to the command of the U.S. Armed Services for use as a field hospital, and ultimately was donated to the British government. When it became clear that further work on the common cold would require the use of large numbers of human volunteers who would be challenged with candidate viruses, the former Harvard hospital became the Common Cold Unit. The authors detail the initial work of the unit and the many leads that often turned out to be dead ends. However, researchers investigating the common cold are not easily discouraged. We learn of the breakthroughs that ultimately led to in vitro propagation of the rhinoviruses and how these viruses were established as the major cause of colds.
The remaining chapters include discussions of the various philosophies of how science should be funded, an overview of virology and virologic techniques, interesting anecdotes about the experiences of volunteers in the unit, the early history of the World Health Organization, experiments and observations about the transmission of rhinoviruses, the effects of psychological factors, and early evaluations of antiviral therapies such as intranasal interferon therapy. Along the way we meet a varied cast of iconic figures in the field of respiratory virology who trained at, collaborated with, or visited the Common Cold Unit at one time or another.
The book is written in a friendly, conversational tone, and one could imagine that this is the story one might have heard from Dr. Tyrrell himself during, say, a long train ride. There is a wealth of anecdote here that one could never find elsewhere, and anyone with more than a passing interest in the common cold would be well advised to spend an afternoon in front of the fireplace with this book and a warm drink. I know I did that, and I was glad afterward.
John Treanor, M.D.
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY 14642
john_treanor@urmc.rochester.edu(By David Tyrrell and Mich)
Tyrrell's career was intimately intertwined with the Common Cold Unit, a unique institution devoted entirely to the study of the causes and treatment of this ailment, and the book is therefore also an institutional history of the unit. Central to this effort to understand and treat the common cold were studies in which healthy volunteers were housed at the Common Cold Unit for two weeks or so and inoculated with preparations of cold viruses. Because there are no animal models for rhinoviruses and many other cold viruses, the use of human volunteers turned out to be critical in determining the causes of colds and evaluating therapies.
The book begins with an overview of the history of the common cold, theories about its cause, and an account of the many unusual remedies applied to help sufferers. Understanding of the potential cause of colds paralleled the development of the germ theory and the discovery of viruses as causes of other illnesses. We learn how the Common Cold Unit began as a hospital for the treatment of infectious disease, which was established in Britain by Harvard University at the very beginning of World War II, then was transferred to the command of the U.S. Armed Services for use as a field hospital, and ultimately was donated to the British government. When it became clear that further work on the common cold would require the use of large numbers of human volunteers who would be challenged with candidate viruses, the former Harvard hospital became the Common Cold Unit. The authors detail the initial work of the unit and the many leads that often turned out to be dead ends. However, researchers investigating the common cold are not easily discouraged. We learn of the breakthroughs that ultimately led to in vitro propagation of the rhinoviruses and how these viruses were established as the major cause of colds.
The remaining chapters include discussions of the various philosophies of how science should be funded, an overview of virology and virologic techniques, interesting anecdotes about the experiences of volunteers in the unit, the early history of the World Health Organization, experiments and observations about the transmission of rhinoviruses, the effects of psychological factors, and early evaluations of antiviral therapies such as intranasal interferon therapy. Along the way we meet a varied cast of iconic figures in the field of respiratory virology who trained at, collaborated with, or visited the Common Cold Unit at one time or another.
The book is written in a friendly, conversational tone, and one could imagine that this is the story one might have heard from Dr. Tyrrell himself during, say, a long train ride. There is a wealth of anecdote here that one could never find elsewhere, and anyone with more than a passing interest in the common cold would be well advised to spend an afternoon in front of the fireplace with this book and a warm drink. I know I did that, and I was glad afterward.
John Treanor, M.D.
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY 14642
john_treanor@urmc.rochester.edu(By David Tyrrell and Mich)