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Show Any Hope for the Common Cold? By CLAIRE SAFRAN Maurice R. Hilleman on a winning streak in his lab. And because of this, the rest of us may soon be able to say good-by- e to the sniffles. Not long ago, Family Weekly featured an article on Dr. Hilletrian's discovery of a new mumps vaccine. Now comes word of his moat recent health break through a revolutionary way to give our bodies a "false alarm." By this piece of medical trickery, he can trigger our bodies into producing a substance that may protect us from the common cold and also from a wide ranee of less common but more deadly diseases. As head of the research team of the Merck Institute , for Therapeutic Research in West Point, Pa, Dr. Hilleman has long been aware of a natural, substance known as interferon. Isolated in the lab ; and injected into animals, interferon proved some 10 years ago that it could ward off a whole spectrum of virus infections. The price, though, was definitely wrong. The National Institutes of Health calculated that it would cost about $5,000 to manufacture just enough of the substance to prevent only one Dr. " virus-fighti- . duced by the body itself. When body cells are at- tacked by a virus, they release interferon into the blood - to - circulate protec-- " tion to the cells not yet under attack. Interferon works like antibodies do, with the exciting difference that any given antibody works against just a single disease agent, and interferon works against an assorted army- - of them. The secret that eluded scientists up until now was how to stimulate the body to produce interferon before an actual infection and without bad side effects. This is what Dr. Hilleman and his team have done. 14 longer-lastin- . c r- - it Family Weekly, December $,1967 - one-sh- ot j ng human cold. Interferon, though, is a substance that also is pro- g immunity. For re-other protection, searchers are following the ' 77 vaccine trail. The research problem is that we have a superabundance of knowledge. As Dr. Robert J. Huebner of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases explains, "Like the old lady who lived in the shoe, we have so many viruses we don't know what to do." Yet he feels that having identified the enemy (or 150 of them) we are ready to fight back. Son scientists have sugvaccine gested a that would mix from 40 to 100 of these different cold viruses. That sounds good, but each strain would have to be so weakened as to become ineffective. i Dr. Huebner predicts that the first effective vaccine will be for children, who are the ones hit the hardest It will be made from the viruses that most commonly attack children. There's good reason for t, this all-ou- Quick'n easy with Kraft Pure Orange Marmalade and Betty Crocker Date Dar Mix package Betty Crocker Date Bar Mix H cup hot water 1 baking powder i teaspooncinnamon ' cup raisins teaspoon cup or 1 package -(8 ounces) candied H teaspoon nutmeg -- rred or green whole cherries M cup Gold Medal Flour , yi teaspoon allspice 1 cup whole pecans or H cup Kraft Pure H cup Kraft Pure almonds Orange Marmalade Orange Marmalade Heat oven to 325". Grease and flour loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches. In large bowl blend date filling from Date Bar Mix and hot water. Mix in crumbly mix, eggs, flour, cup orange marmalade, the baking powder and Spices" thoroughly. Fold in nut raisins and cherries. Pour into prepared pan. Bake about 1 hour and 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool thoroughly. Wrap and refrigerate. Just before serving, heat H cup orange marmalade until thin. Spoon over fruitcake. If desired, dip underside of candied fruit pieces in heated marmalade and press fruits on top of cake. - 3B 1 1 1 , . He reports a substance that mas- querades as a virus but without viral effects. It's one of the basic chemicals of life, ribonucleic acid (RNA). Injected, it sends out a false signal that viruses are invading. The body reacts by mobilizing its 'defensive system of interferon. In this it becomes immune to true viruses as well. So far, researchers have experimented only with mice and rabbits in the lab. But the results have been so dramatic that they're preparing to test it soon on humans. Interferon gives only short-terway, "t m double-prong- ' ed war on the common cold. Pick any day this winter and youll find some 20 million people in the United States with running noses, rasping throats, and stuffy, aching heads. These symp- -. toms will happen to nine -- out of 10 people at least once this year, and to, most of us, they'll happen three or four times. While old wives' tales such as eating-garl- ic cap- sules and vinegar pickles or chewing raw, seasoned peanuts aren't likely to help cure a cold, Grandma's fa-- 1 vorite remedy is still what most doctors prescribe: go to bed, keep warm, drink Jots of- - liquids,- - and tak- ean aspirin. That's about the best you can do this winter, and some medical people are pessimistic about being able to do much better in the near future. But many optimists like Dr. Hilleman say hopefully, "Wait till next -- , -- ", year!" |