Mucociliary clearance is an important primary innate defense mechanism that protects the lungs from deleterious effects of inhaled pollutants, allergens, and pathogens. Mucociliary dysfunction is a common feature of chronic airway diseases in humans. The mucociliary apparatus consists of three functional compartments, that is, the cilia, a protective mucus layer, and an airway surface liquid (A...

Mucociliary clearance is a key defence mechanism in human upper and lower airways and its impairment predisposes to chronic infections of the nose, paranasal sinuses and respiratory tract. Nasal mucociliary clearance is a first-line physiological function of nasal cavity, that helps protecting the lower respiratory tract from undesirable organic and inorganic matter, including microorganisms. O...

BACKGROUND Several strategies and devices have been designed to protect health care providers from acquiring transmissible respiratory diseases while providing care. In modulating the physical characteristics of the respiratory secretions to minimize the aerosolization that facilitates transmission of airborne diseases, a fundamental premise is that the prototype drugs have no adverse effect on...

Background Sinusitis affects significant percentage of population causing considerable long term morbidity. P.aeruginosa is responsible for about 13% of the sinusitis cases. Pseudomonas produces hemolysin, rhamnolipid, a membrane glycolipid, secretory pigments like pyocyanin and 1hydrophenazine which can reduce ciliary beating and mucociliary clearance. Alginate functions as an adhesion, thereb...

Vulnerabilità e resilienza: 
 Voci pratiche dai margini
 a cura di Albana Muco, Giorgia Testa Francesca Volpi

Usher syndrome type I is an autosomal recessive disease characterised by congenital sensorineural deafness, involvement of the vestibular system, and progressive visual loss owing to retinitis pigmentosa. Here we report the association of this disease with bronchiectasis, chronic sinusitis, and reduced nasal mucociliary clearance in two sibs and we suggest Usher syndrome type I could be a prima...

We report 2 patients with invasive aspergillosis after infection with pandemic (H1N1) 2009. Influenza viruses are known to cause immunologic defects and impair ciliary clearance. These defects, combined with high-dose corticosteroids prescribed during influenza-associated adult respiratory distress syndrome, may be novel risk factors predisposing otherwise immunocompetent patients to invasive a...