Leading U.S. Health Publication From The University Of California (Berkeley) Calls Trial Results Involving Canada's Leading Cold Remedy 'Promising'

Main Category: Flu / Cold / SARS
Article Date: 17 Aug 2007 - 2:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Canada's leading cold remedy - COLD-fX - gets critical praise from the University of California's respected UC Berkeley Wellness Letter in the midst of the ongoing debate involving Vitamin "C", Echinacea and other ways to treat the common cold. COLD-fX is a new class of evidence-based therapeutics discovered by Canadians scientists from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada which only recently became available in the U.S.

The editors selected COLD-fX for special focus along with an analysis of Vitamin "C" in the July issue of the wellness letter in which they also mention three other popular cold remedies - Airborne, Cold-Eeze and Zicam. The letter has 350,000 subscribers in the United States and Canada and is one of the most influential health letters in North America.

The editors have examined and praise several published clinical trials approved by the FDA and Health Canada done on COLD-fX and call them 'well-designed' and the results, 'promising'. They go on to write, "...it is unusual for studies of a so-called natural product to be even as well designed as these."

The wellness letter is published by the School of Public Health at UC (Berkeley) and has 9MDs and 5PhDs on its editorial board. They have a reputation for their careful scrutiny of products and rare praise.

The COLD-fX appraisal - The editors write:

"Cold remedies come and go. Airborne, Cold-Eeze, Zicam, homeopathic products, megazdoses of vitamin C, and other nostrums have had their day, but flunked in clinical trials, or turned out to help a little but not much or to have potentially serious side effects. In the end, most of go back to aspirin, chicken soup, and patience, which are usually just as good as anything."

But recently Health Canada (the equivalent of the FDA in the U. S.) put its stamp of approval on Cold-fX, a ginseng-derived product that is now allowed to claim, at least in Canada, that it 'helps reduce the frequency, severity, and duration of cold and flu symptoms by boosting the immune system.' Ginseng is a genus of plants grown worldwide and touted for almost every medical purpose imaginable. One problem with ginseng on the U.S. market is that you do not really know what kind you are getting, which part of the plant, or how much, since supplements are virtually unregulated here. But Cold-fX is a patented, standardized extract of American ginseng root (Panax quinquefolious) and has been tested in several studies, with promising results."

Many drugstores in the U.S. sell Cold-fX, but without the claims about reducing cold symptoms. (The labels of supplements in the U.S. are permitted only to make 'structure and function' claims, not to say they cure or treat a disease.). But before you try the product, remember that even in Canada the claim is not to prevent all colds, or to treat a cold once you have one, but to reduce their severity, frequency and duration."

The authors go on to write:

"The studies on which the claims are based were sponsored by the manufacturer (just like the studies of most prescriptions drugs). In one study of healthy middle-aged subjects published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, those who took Cold-fX over four months had fewer colds, and when they did get colds, symptoms were milder compared to those taking a placebo. Another study, published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, tested Cold fX in elderly people, who also experienced a reduction in respiratory infections. All this sounds encouraging, but the studies were small and brief. Still it is unusual for studies of a so-called 'natural product' to be even as well designed as these. Other studies which may or may not back up the claims - are underway."

The editors address safety:

"If you want to try Cold-fX, it appears to be safe. You take two tablets a day over the 'long term' presumably throughout the cold season, and a month's supply costs about $30. The manufacturer says 'short term'' dosing is okay, too, but no one has tested whether the product has any benefits if you start taking it at the first sneeze - Health Canada plans to review further research. Since ginseng has an anticoagulant effect, if you are taking blood thinners (such as warfarin), talk with your doctor before taking Cold-fX."

Note: The UC Berkeley Wellness Letter refers readers to reviews they previously published in September, 2005 on Airborne and Zicam. Of Zicam, the editors concluded: Is it worth the risk, just to reduce the duration of a cold by a couple of days? We say no." Of Airborne, the editors concluded: "Should you be a guinea pig for Airborne? Again, we say no. There's no reason to think it's safe or effective." Note: website for UC Berkeley Wellness Letter Homepage

Publication of this review is not intended to be interpreted as a promotion or endorsement by UC Berkeley Wellness Letter or its authors of Cold-fX or its manufacturer, CV Technologies.

About Uc Berkeley Wellness Letter

The UC Berkeley Wellness Letter was first published in 1984 and has more than 350,000 subscribers in the U.S. and Canada in addition to readers of its foreign language editions. The San Francisco Chronicle says that the Wellness Letter "reflects a scholarly thoroughness that has helped make the publication the most popular of all university-sponsored health newsletters." The newsletter has been rated # 1 by U.S. News and World Report, the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun and Money Magazine. It relies on the expertise of the University's School of Public Health and top scientists from around the world. It's editorial board has 14 members (9 MDs, 5 PhDs) including the dean and professors from the School of Public Health and is led by departmental chair, Dr. John Swartzberg who is a specialist in infectious dieases. The Berkeley faculty has included 20 Nobel laureates, 5 Pulitzer Prize winners, 128 appointees to the National Academy of Sciences and 30 winners of the National Medal of Science. The School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley is one of the leading research and teachings institutions in its field in the U.S.

About CV Technologies Inc.

CV Technologies, founded in 1992, is a global leader in the development and commercialization of naturally derived, evidence based, natural therapeutics for disease prevention and health maintenance. The Company's lead product - COLD-fX - strengthens the immune system and is widely used in Canada as a leading over the counter (OTC) remedy for preventing and relieving cold and flu infections. In the U.S. it is sold as a dietary supplement. A comprehensive treatment claim approved by Health Canada for COLD-fX states that it "helps reduce the frequency, severity and duration of cold and flu symptoms by boosting the immune system." Such therapeutic claims require support by randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trials which are the highest level of scientific evidence. COLD-fX, with its unique and patented mechanism of action is standardized according to the Company's ChemBioPrint (CBP) process.

The CBP process precisely identifies the chemical profile and biological activity of multi-active compounds in evidence-based natural therapeutics, while providing a manufacturing protocol that ensures each batch of the final product delivers verifiable and provable health benefits. International manufacturing, marketing, patents and trademarks are held by fX Life Sciences International GmbH. COLD-fX is distributed and sold in the U.S. by COLD-fX Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc. after receiving clearance from the FDA as a New Dietary Ingredient. Both companies are wholly-owned subsidiaries of CV Technologies Inc. fX Life Sciences International GmbH and COLD-fX Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc. maintain a call center for product information: 1-877-490-3300.

http://www.cvtechnologies.com

COLD-fX Medical Highlights:

- Seven clinical trials have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of COLD-fX

- Scientific studies have been published in nine peer-reviewed medical journals, including the Canadian Medical Association Journal

- Five Canadian universities and a major U.S. medical centre are currently conducting clinical trials and scientific studies on COLD-fX

- On March 1, 2007, a major U.S. scientific review of COLD-fX conducted for the American Botanical Council by leading American cold/flu experts concluded COLD-fX delivered "impressive" benefits to users

- COLD-fX clinical trial results were selected in 2006 as one of the world's top 25 significant advances in dietary supplements research by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)

- FACT - the peer-reviewed, leading British Journal on Complementary and Alernative Medicine published by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain previewed the pivotal clinical study on COLD-fX praising the scientific methodology in their March 2006 issue.

- The Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), an independent health watchdog group in Washington, D.C., says in a January 2007 review of ten popular cold remedies that, "...Cold-fx is the only remedy we found with any evidence that it might improve your chances of getting through the cold and flu season without coming down with something."

- COLD-fX is included in the 2007 Physicians Desk Reference® which is used in the U.S. by most doctors, hospitals and pharmacies.

http://www.coldfx.com