THE EFFECT OF BOTULINUM TOXIN TYPE-A INJECTION FOR INTRINSIC RHINITIS

Botulinum toxin type A (BTA) is known to inhibit the release of acetyl choline from cholinergic nerve endings. Owing to the characteristics o f BTA, we thought that it could be used for the treatment of intrinsic rhinitis acting as an anticholinergic drug. In a double-blind placebo -controlled study four units of BTA were injected into the middle turb inate (two units) and inferior turbinate (two units) in each nasal cav ity. Rhinorrhoea, nasal obstruction, and sneezing were recorded in a s ymptom diary on the basis of a scale of 5 and the number of paper tiss ues used per day was also recorded for 24 weeks. Rhinorrhoea was signi ficantly diminished in severity (24.1-41.5 per cent reduction) and pap er tissue use (54.3 per cent reduction) in the BTA group compared with the placebo group. This effect could be maintained for four weeks. Sn eezing and nasal stuffiness were not affected by BTA. These results su ggest that BTA can be used to treat rhinorrhoea in intrinsic rhinitis patients, however, the effective period is short.