Shorter duration of common colds for endurance athletes with ColdZyme
A British study initiated by researchers in which endurance athletes used Enzymatica’s ColdZyme®® cold spray shows significantly shorter duration of common colds and milder common cold symptoms compared with endurance athletes in the untreated group. The study, which was published in the European Journal of Sport Science, was conducted at the University of Kent. The results confirm the interim data from 2018, as well as results from earlier studies on ColdZyme.
In this prospective observational study, which is the first randomized and controlled study investigating the effect of ColdZyme in endurance athletes, 123 athletes who participate in endurance sports such as marathons, bicycling and triathlons, were randomized to the ColdZyme group or to the control group. The study was conducted during two common cold seasons, beginning in December 2017 and December 2018, respectively. The participants logged their training and symptoms of illness according to the Jackson common cold scale over a three-month period during training.
Interim data from the first part of the study were presented in 20181. The final results from the recently published study2 confirm the earlier preliminary results and show that the duration of common colds was reduced by 26%. In addition, athletes who better followed the Instructions for Use for ColdZyme achieved statistically significant better results, with a 34% shorter duration of common colds (p = 0.004), compared with endurance athletes who were not treated with ColdZyme. The study results show that the duration of common colds was 10.4 days without treatment and 7.7 days with ColdZyme treatment, and 6.9 days in those who better followed the treatment instructions. A statistically significant difference was also seen regarding common cold symptoms, which were milder in the group treated with ColdZyme. The control group also had more than twice as many lost training days, 3.5 days, per illness episode compared with the ColdZyme group’s 1.6 days per episode (p = 0.013).
Endurance athletes as a group are of particular interest to study because high training loads lower immunity and make the athletes more susceptible to upper respiratory tract infections, causing them to lose training and competition days.
“Treatment strategies to reduce illness episodes are especially beneficial for athletes by reducing the number of training days lost. This study indicates that ColdZyme can reduce the duration of self-reported naturally acquired common colds in endurance athletes and result in fewer lost training days due to common cold symptoms, especially when ColdZyme is used correctly,” says Dr. Glen Davison, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Kent.
“We are pleased that the results from this investigator-initiated study confirm the results from previous studies of ColdZyme and strengthen the documentation for our common cold spray,” says Fredrik Lindberg, CEO of Enzymatica.
The COLDPREV3 clinical study showed that illness duration was 54% shorter among healthy adults who were inoculated with rhinovirus and treated with ColdZyme. In addition, a clinical study4 of naturally acquired common colds, as well as several previous observational studies, also demonstrated shorter duration of common colds when the studied group used ColdZyme.
1 Davison et al, Does ColdZyme reduce upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) incidence or duration in endurance athletes, 3rd European Otolaryngology-ENT Surgery Conference, October 08-10, 2018 London, UK
2 Glen Davison, Eleanor Perkins, Arwel W. Jones, Gabriella M. Swart, Alex R. Jenkins, Hayley Robinson & Kimberly Dargan (2020): ColdZyme®
Mouth Spray reduces duration of upper respiratory tract infection symptoms in endurance athletes under free living conditions., European Journal of Sport Science, DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2020.1771429
3 Clarsund, M.,Fornbacke, M., Uller, L., Johnston, S.L. and Emanuelsson, C.A. (2017) A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Clinical Study on ColdZyme® Mouth Spray against Rhinovirus-Induced Common Cold. Open Journal of Respiratory Diseases, 7, 125-135. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojrd.2017.74013
4 Multi-symptom Relief and Improvement of Quality of Life - A Comparative Multicenter Trial on ColdZyme® Mouth Spray in Common Cold, Icelandic Medical Association conference, Jan 2019
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Claus Egstrand, Chief Operating Officer Enzymatica AB
Phone: +44 7780 22 8385 | E-mail: claus.egstrand@enzymatica.com
Carl-Johan Wachtmeister, Head of Corporate Communications, Enzymatica AB
Tel: +46 (0)701-88 50 21 | Email: carl-johan.wachtmeister@enzymatica.com
About Enzymatica AB
Enzymatica AB is a Swedish life science company that develops and sells health care products for primarily conditions of the ear-nose-and-throat region. The products are based on a barrier technology that includes marine enzymes. The company’s first product is the medical device ColdZyme®, a mouth spray against common cold. The product has been launched in about ten markets. The strategy is to continue to grow by developing more health care products and strengthening the company’s position in existing markets and expanding into new geographic markets through established partners. The company has its headquarters in Lund and is listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. For more information, visit: www.enzymatica.com and www.enzymatica.se/en/section/media/press-releases
Enzymatica’s certified adviser is Erik Penser Bank. Phone: +46 (0)8 463 83 00. Email: certifiedadviser@penser.se
Enzymatica AB Ideon Science Park, SE-223 70 Lund, Sweden Telefon +46 46-286 31 00