Thorax
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Effect of amiloride and saline on nasal mucociliary clearance and potential difference in cystic fibrosis and normal subjects.
Mucociliary clearance is an important component of pulmonary defence. Maximum clearance is thought to depend on an optimal depth of the sol layer, allowing the most efficient interaction between the cilia and the overlying mucus layer. Sodium absorption, the major ion transport in human airways, is thought to be important in the regulation of the depth of the sol layer. In the airways of patients with cystic fibrosis sodium absorption is increased and mucociliary clearance decreased. Amiloride, a sodium channel blocker, has been shown to improve pulmonary mucociliary clearance in patients with cystic fibrosis. However, its effects on nasal mucociliary clearance in either normal subjects or those with cystic fibrosis are unknown. A study was therefore performed to investigate whether nebulised amiloride improves nasal mucociliary clearance in normal or cystic fibrosis subjects. ⋯ Nebulised saline significantly improves nasal mucociliary clearance in both normal subjects and those with cystic fibrosis. Amiloride did not appear to exert any additional effects in either group of subjects, despite evidence of its efficacy of deposition.