FeNO measurement is a validated non-invasive technique, which
is used for diagnosis and monitoring of asthma. It would be
desirable to find a reliable method to monitor allergic rhinitis (AR)
via measurement of FeNO, and/or nasal nitric oxide (nNO). The
aim of our study was the assessment of the efficacy of FeNO and
nNO as markers in AR treatment. FeNO and nNO were measured
with the portable NO analyser (NIOX MINO®) in healthy
participants and in patients with AR. The patients were examined
during the pollen season and out of it. The effect of local
corticosteroids and antihistamine therapy was observed in
patients with AR during pollen season after three weeks of
therapy. There are significant differences between FeNO and
nNO in patients with AR compared to healthy controls at all set
points of measurements. While FeNO responded well to the
treatment with both antihistamines and combined therapy, nNO
decreased only after combined therapy with antihistamines and
nasal corticosteroids. nNO monitoring alone is not a suitable
method to monitor inflammation of the upper airways in AR and
its suppression by anti-allergic treatment and should be
correlated with other markers as FeNO or symptom scores.
Laboratory research of cough reflex utilizes almost exclusively
male guinea pigs – a practice that represents a significant obstacle
in the successful translation of results into clinical practice. Chronic
hypersensitivity cough syndrome affects mostly postmenopausal
women and it represents significant decrease in patient’s quality
of life. No cause for such exaggerated cough can be found,
therefore this condition cannot be treated appropriately. One of
the reasons leading to the lack of relevant data about mechanisms
responsible for hypersensitivity of cough related pathways is
nowadays widely discussed gender bias, which is present in nearly
all branches of biomedical research. Since gender differences in
cough reflex physiology do exist in humans, it would be reasonable
to study cough-related phenomena on both sexes of laboratory
animals. In this study, we focused on detailed characterization of
cough response of female guinea pigs to aerosols of commonly
used tussive agents (capsaicin, distilled water, allyl isothiocyanate,
cinnamaldehyde, citric acid). In pooled data from multiple
challenges we found no statistical difference in number of cough
and cough latency between sexes. Based on our results we
conclude that the utilization of female guinea pigs model does not
lead to messy data and can be used in basic cough research.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is most commonly manifested by the
presence of motor symptoms. However, non-motor symptoms
occur several years before the onset of motor symptoms
themselves. Hallmarks of dysfunction of the respiratory system are
still outside the main focus of interest, whether by clinicians or
scientists, despite their indisputable contribution to the morbidity
and mortality of patients suffering from PD. In addition, many of
the respiratory symptoms are already present in the early stages
of the disease and efforts to utilize these parameters in the early
diagnosis of PD are now intensifying. Mechanisms that lead to the
development and progression of respiratory symptoms are only
partially understood. This review focuses mainly on the
comparison of respiratory problems observed in clinical studies
with available findings obtained from experimental animal models.
It also explains pathological changes observed in non-neuronal
tissues in subjects with PD.