CORRELATIONS AMONG MUCOCILIARY TRANSPORT, CILIARY FUNCTION, AND CILIARY STRUCTURE

Mucociliary transport is one of the most important defense mechanisms of the airway. Mucociliary transport time or rate, as measured using t he saccharin test or the radioisotope technique, respectively is clini cally the most relevant parameter although subject to large intra-and interindividual variability. There is no correlation between mucocilia ry transport in vivo and ciliary beat frequency ex vivo. Preliminary e vidence demonstrates that mucociliary transport correlates with ciliar y structure and orientation as investigated with transmission and scan ning electron microscopy. A correlation is presented be tween ciliary beat frequency and secondary ciliary abnormalities. This correlation c an best be described according to the logistic sigmoid model (r = 0.69 ). Based on these functional data, an ultrastructural distinction is p roposed among normal (less than 5%), light (5 to 15%), moderate (15 to 25%), and severe (more than 25%) secondary ciliary dyskinesia.