An interesting study is taking place at the University of Calgary which requires participants to be infected with the cold virus.
Scientists are giving people with asthma a cold so they can take a very close look at what's happening inside the airways.
Brent Scott has asthma and like many people with the disease, a cold can bring on an attack.
“Here we can precisely give somebody a virus that we know they don't have immunity to, because we test them before we start, and if they don’t have immunity we can give them the virus on a specific day and know exactly the time quote of that virus and what it’s doing and know exactly when to sample the airways and look for the changes we're seeing,” said Dr. David Proud from the University of Calgary.
“I don't think it's anything major, it's a pretty minor inconvenience I think. I mean, it’s that time of year, you’re going to get sick anyways and might as well get it over with,” said Scott.
The goal of the study is to see how the airways respond and ultimately try to prevent common cold viruses from creating permanent damage.
The University of Calgary is the only research centre in Canada that has approval to infect people with cold viruses.
Researchers are looking for more volunteers. They need three types of participants: healthy non-smokers who don't have asthma, people with asthma, and people who smoke.
The research will also determine if there is a way to help smokers cope with the effects of a cold.
For more information you can call: 403-220-2123.
(With files from Karen Owen)
