T. Runer et S. Lindberg, EFFECTS OF NITRIC-OXIDE ON BLOOD-FLOW AND MUCOCILIARY ACTIVITY IN THEHUMAN NOSE, The Annals of otology, rhinology & laryngology, 107(1), 1998, pp. 40-46
In an animal model, nitric oxide (NO) has been shown to increase mucoc
iliary activity in vivo and ciliary beat frequency in vitro. The aim o
f the present study was to investigate the effects of NO on blood flow
and mucociliary activity in the human nose. The concentration of NO i
n nasal air was measured with a chemiluminescence technique after nebu
lizing the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) at a dose of 3.0 mg int
o the nose in six volunteers, and was found to increase by 50.1% +/- 1
0.0% (mean +/- SEM; p <.001) after the SNP challenge. Blood flow measu
red by laser Doppler flowmetry increased by 67.3% +/- 15.5% (p <.05) a
fter challenge with SNP at 1.0 mg, and by 75.4% +/- 18.5% at 3.0 mg (p
<.01; n = 6). The higher dose, which produced no subjective side effe
cts, was then used in the mucociliary experiments. The maximum increas
e in nasal mucociliary activity was 57.2% +/- 6.7% at 3.0 mg of SNP (n
= 5). The findings support the view that NO regulates mucociliary act
ivity and blood flow in the human nasal mucosa.