Mucociliary tracheal transport rates were measured in 20 patients with cystic fibrosis, in whom these rates ranged from 0 to 12.8 mm/min. The patients were divided into 3 roughly equal groups on the basis of their transport rates. (1) Those in whom no abnormality in mucociliary transport was detected in the trachea; (2) those in whom normal transport rates were measured but in whom abnormalitie...

The rate of mucociliary clearance in the airways is a function of ciliary beat frequency (CBF), and this, in turn, is increased by increases in intracellular calcium. The TRPV4 cation channel mediates Ca(2+) influx in response to mechanical and osmotic stimuli in ciliated epithelia. With the use of a TRPV4-deficient mouse, we now show that TRPV4 is involved in the airways' response to physiolog...

The HIV/AIDS infection is an important public health problem in Romania. The aim of this study was to evaluate the main muco-cutaneous manifestations and their frequency in patients with HIV infection/AIDS in Romania. The study was performed beginning 1988 among 400 patients with HIV infection/AIDS who attended Scarlat Longhin Clinical Hospital for Dermatology, Victor Babeş Clinical Hospital of...

The physiological aging of the respiratory apparatus and the prolongued exposure to harmful agents, spread by the ventilation, cause the remodeling of the osteo–cartilagineous tissue and the hypertrophy of the nasal mucosa; these pathological changes alter the mechanism of defense and above all compromise the muco-ciliary clearance. Bacteria are in great measure hygroscopic, so once they are ca...

Pieces of gill isolated from the clam Mercenaria mercenaria clear colloidal graphite from seawater, and the clearance rates are measurable. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) had a biphasic effect on clearance rates: concentrations from 10(-6) to 10(-5) mol l(-1) 5-HT increased clearance, but higher concentrations reduced it. During the summer, the gills were less responsive to 5-HT: the threshold incr...

Nasal polyps are benign lesions commonly affecting up to 4% of the population [1]. Some theories considered polyps a consequence of conditions which cause chronic inflammation in the nose and nasal sinuses characterised by stromal oedema and cellular infiltration [2]. While many aspects of nasal polyps had been documented, the initiating cause remained unknown and might be different for differe...