Ascorbic acid for the common cold. A prophylactic and therapeutic trial - PubMed (original) (raw)

Clinical Trial

. 1975 Mar 10;231(10):1038-42.

Clinical Trial

Ascorbic acid for the common cold. A prophylactic and therapeutic trial

T R Karlowski et al. JAMA. 1975.

Abstract

Three hundred eleven employees of the National Institutes of Health volunteered to take 1 gm of ascorbic acid or lactose placebo in capsules three times a day for nine months. At the onset of a cold, the volunteers were given an additional 3 gm daily of either a placebo or ascorbic acid. One hundred ninety volunteers completed the study. Dropouts were defined as those who missed at least one month of drug ingestion. They represented 44% of the placebo group and 34% of those taking ascorbic acid. Analysis of these data showed that ascorbic acid had at best only a minor influence on the duration and severity of colds, and that the effects demonstrated might be explained equally well by a break in the double blind.

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