H.D.C. Smyth and A.J. Hickey (eds.), Controlled Pulmonary Drug Delivery, Advances in Delivery Science and Technology, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-9745-6_2, © Controlled Release Society 2011 Abstract Delivering therapeutic agents to the lungs requires a deep understanding of the kinetics and dynamics of drugs in this biologically and physiologically complex system. In this chapter these concepts are ...

The present study uses numerical modeling to increase the understanding of sinus gas exchange, which is thought to be a factor in sinus disease. Order-of-magnitude estimates and computational fluid dynamics simulations were used to investigate convective and diffusive transport between the nose and the sinus in a range of simplified geometries. The interaction between mucociliary transport and ...

The high case-fatality rate--especially among young adults--during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic is incompletely understood. Although late deaths showed bacterial pneumonia, early deaths exhibited extremely "wet," sometimes hemorrhagic lungs. The hypothesis presented herein is that aspirin contributed to the incidence and severity of viral pathology, bacterial infection, and death, because p...

Dehydration of the apical surface of cystic fibrosis (CF) airway epithelia leads to a greatly impaired mucociliary clearance function in CF patients. In an in vitro cell model of human airway epithelia taken from CF patients and cultivated for 60 days, mucociliary clearance was zero. Tyloxapol, a synthetic surfactant, is able to restore the mucociliary clearance of the CF epithelia. The velocit...

Aeroallergens produced by Alternaria alternata can elicit life-threatening exacerbations of asthma in patients sensitized to this fungus. In this study, the effect of Alternaria on ion transport mechanisms underlying mucociliary clearance and airway epithelial barrier function was investigated in human airway epithelial cells. Apical exposure to Alternaria induced an increase in anion secretion...

BACKGROUND Planar cell polarity (PCP) coordinates the patterning and orientation of cells and their structures along tissue planes, and although its acquisition during the formation of airway epithelium has been described, the mechanisms for its maintenance and reconstruction are poorly understood. We aimed to clarify whether ambient environment change by orthotropic autologous transplantation ...

CONCLUSIONS In order to confirm these preliminary results, a prospective double-blind study has been instituted in Padova University ENT Section to compare the efficacy of sulphurous-arsenical-ferruginous thermal water nasal irrigations vs isotonic sodium chloride solution nasal irrigations after functional endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic sinusitis. OBJECTIVES Despite their widespread us...

Airway epithelium is the first line of defense against exposure of the airway and lung to various inflammatory stimuli. Ciliary beating of airway epithelial cells constitutes an important part of the mucociliary transport apparatus. To be effective in transporting secretions out of the lung, the mucociliary transport apparatus must exhibit a cohesive beating of all ciliated epithelial cells tha...

The role of the airway circulation in supporting mucociliary function has been essentially unstudied. We evaluated the airway clearance of inert, insoluble particles in anesthetized ventilated sheep (n = 8), in which bronchial perfusion was controlled, to determine whether airway mucosal blood flow is essential for maintaining surface transport of particles through airways. The bronchial branch...

Dehydration of the apical surface of cystic fibrosis (CF) airway epithelia leads to a greatly impaired mucociliary clearance function in CF patients. In an in vitro cell model of human airway epithelia taken from CF patients and cultivated for 60 days, mucociliary clearance was zero. Tyloxapol, a synthetic surfactant, is able to restore the mucociliary clearance of the CF epithelia. The velocit...