N-isobutyrylcysteine (NIC), a new thiol compound that is not rapidly hydrolysed to give higher levels of free thiols in the body than N-acetylcysteine (NAC), was used to test if the effect of NAC on exacerbations in chronic bronchitis was an effect of the unhydrolysed thiol compound. Smokers or exsmokers with chronic bronchitis forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) >40% and reversibilit...

A combination of anatomical, histological and physiological data from wild-type and null-mutated mice have established crucial roles for BDNF and NT3 in gustatory and somatosensory innervation of the tongue, and indeed for proper development of the papillary surface of the tongue. BDNF is expressed in taste buds, NT3 in many surrounding epithelial structures. Absence of BDNF in mice leads to se...

Hypoglossal nerve palsy (HNP) may follow fracture of the base of the skull. Of the various aetiologies described, trauma is one of the least frequent. HNP can easily be missed at the time of injury and awareness of this rare complication may assist in early diagnosis. A case of HNP after a head injury associated with the loss of taste sensation on the paralysed side of the tongue and aerocoele ...

The qualitative and quantitative changes occurring in the taste buds of the fungiform papillae of male Sprague-Dawley rats (aged 51-125 days old) after x-ray irradiation were studied. A single dose of 2000 Roentgen (R) was delivered and observations were made at 0, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 30 days after x-ray irradiation. The changes in taste bud morphology were interpreted first as degenerative and th...

How organs maintain and restore functional integrity during ordinary tissue turnover or following injury represents a central biological problem. The maintenance of taste sensory organs in the tongue was shown 140 years ago to depend on innervation from distant ganglion neurons, but the underlying mechanism has remained unknown. Here, we show that Sonic hedgehog (Shh), which encodes a secreted ...

Detection thresholds for NaCl, KCl, sucrose, aspartame, acetic acid, citric acid, caffeine, quinine HCl, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and inosine 5'-monophosphate (IMP) were assessed in 21 young (19-33 years) and 21 elderly (60-75 years) persons by taking the average of six ascending two-alternative forced choice tests. A significant overall effect was found for age, but not for gender. However, ...

Numerous hypotensive drugs result in decreasing the taste sensitivity or total loss of taste perception. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of selected groups of hypotensive drugs used in combined treatment of the taste sensitivity in patients suffering from primary arterial hypertension. The study was conducted in a group of 84 patients aged 30-60, including 43 women and 41 me...

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To assess the psychological, physical, and social situations and needs of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease. DESIGN Quantitative, descriptive. SETTING An urban comprehensive cancer center in northeastern Poland. SAMPLE 50 patients undergoing first-line palliative chemo-therapy. METHODS Participants were asked to fill o...

The patient is a healthy 66-year-old man with no previous headache history. He acutely developed a sharp, intermittent, retro-orbital pain, traveling into his left eye. There was no preceding head trauma, unusual physical exertion, seasonal allergies, or sinus disease. His right face was unaffected. The pain could also travel to the left occipital region. He denied any tearing or discharge from...