Cough is an indispensable defensive reflex. Although generally beneficial, cough is also a common symptom of diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer. Cough remains a major unmet medical need and, although the centrally acting opioids have remained the antitussive drug of choice for decades, such opioids possess many unwanted side-effects. However, n...

cough is a common reason for seeking medical advices for children. cough is a natural defense mechanism and can frequently occur in healthy children and can be increased by urban living and polluted cities. thus, previous history, cough exacerbations factors and quality of cough are very helpful in diagnosis of pathological cough. there are different definitions for chronic cough. in this artic...

AIMS To test the hypothesis that inhibition of cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) by quinidine increases the antitussive effect of dextromethorphan (DEX) in an induced cough model. METHODS Twenty-two healthy extensive metaboliser phenotypes for CYP2D6 were studied according to a double-blind, randomised cross-over design after administration of: (1) Placebo antitussive preceded at 1 h by placebo in...

BACKGROUND Ma-Xing-Gan-Shi-Tang (abbreviated as MXGST), an important Chinese herbal prescribed for cough, bronchial inflammation and fever from pneumonia, consists of four medicinal herbs, including Ephedrae herb, Semen Pruni Armeniacae, licorice and Gypsum. These components, especially Ephedrae and Semen Pruni Armeniacae, possess antitussive activities, but they have severe adverse effects. ...

Cough is the most frequent complaint of patients seeking medical attention in general and hospital practice. Cough is controlled by treating the cause, however, when no cause can be found, symptomatic relief of cough must be considered. Treatment of dry cough resulting from increased sensitivity of the cough reflex remains a challenge in some subjects. Codeine in combination with other medicine...

It is now well-established that sensory nerves stimulation in the airway induces bronchoconstriction and inflammation, but also protective reflexes, such as coughing. These effects are mediated through the release of tachykinins (substance P and neurokinin A) and we have recently shown that SR 48968, a tachykinin NK2-receptor antagonist, inhibited cough induced by citric acid. In this paper, we...

BACKGROUND The hypothesis that adrenaline can augment and/or prolong the antitussive effect of nebulised lignocaine was examined. METHODS The effect of inhaled lignocaine alone (20 mg) and in combination with adrenaline (400 micrograms) was studied on capsaicin-induced cough in 10 healthy subjects. RESULTS Cough was significantly reduced between five and 25 minutes by lignocaine. Adrenaline...

The cough is a protective reflex mechanism that removes foreign material and secretions from the bronchi and bronchioles of the airways; it is inappropriately stimulated in various situations like inflammation of the respiratory tract or neoplasia. In these cases, cough has a pathological character and it is necessary sometimes to use cough-suppressant drugs. The most frequently used antitussiv...