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Background: Once-daily use of nasally applied glucocorticoids was demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. The aim of the study was to measure concentrations of fluticasone propionate (FP) in nasal secretion and nasal tissue over a period of 1 day after a single application of 100 µg FP. Methods: Twenty-six patients applied nasal FP spray at different time intervals before surgery. Cotton swabs, used to clean the mucosal surface, and resected nasal tissue were extracted. FP concentrations were determined by RIA. Results: FP was found in nasal secretions in concentrations from 15 to 1 µg/g over a period of 20 h, and in nasal tissue in concentrations from 200 to 13 ng/g up to 24 h after the single application. Conclusions: The long-persisting high concentrations of FP provide the pharmacokinetic basis for once-daily treatment.

internum in visual control with a head lamp and a nasal speculum (4). The subjective sensations of nasal patency were registered with a visual analog scale (VAS) from 0 (totally open) to 10 (totally obstructed). The measurements took place at 20-min intervals during short interruptions in the exposure. Nasal secretion: The median amounts of the nasal secretions from both nasal cavities began to increase during the resting period in the cold (Fig. 1), the increase being statistically signi®cant (P=0.031, Wilcoxon test for paired comparisons). During the exercise in the cold, the secretions further increased (P=0.031). Nasal volume and ow. Slight, statistically nonsigni®cant average increases in the total nasal ow and volume were noted during the resting period in the cold when compared with the pre-exposure values (Fig. 1). During the exercise, the increases were statistically signi®cant both in the ow (P=0.046) and in the volume (P=0.021). Contralateral comparison of ow and volume changes. The ow and volume changes between the pre-exercise resting periods at +228C and ±118C were compared in the initially more open and less open cavities (Fig. 1). Statistically signi®cant increases in the less open cavities were noted both in the ow (P=0.006) and in the volume (P=0.015). In the more open cavities, nonsigni®cant average decreases in ow and volume were were noted. Subjective sensations of nasal patency. All subjects evaluated their noses as patent (VAS 0±3) throughout the experiment. No signi®cant average patency changes could be noted in the cold exposure, either during the resting periods or during the exercise. We conclude that in a cold environment unilateral adjustments in nasal congestion take place, maintaining the total nasal patency. Therefore, the lower airways are protected better than if oral breathing were to take place in these circumstances. The IgE antibody to parasite induced in mice

Immunoglobulins A, E and G were studied in serum and nasal secretion from patients with allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinitis and aspirin hypersensitivity, and normal controls. The allergic patients differed from the other groups in having higher IgE values, both in serum and in nasal secretion. The patients with aspirin hypersensitivity did not differ from the control group regarding the IgE values. No difference between the groups was found with respect to IgA and IgG. The results indicate that reaginic antibodies are not involved in causing aspirin hypersensitivity.

Nasal secretion samples from 473 children aged 0--15 years were studied in order to evaluate the role of mast cells in the nasal smear in different types of atopy and food allergy. The occurrence of eosinophils in the nasal secretion and in the blood, and susceptibility to upper respiratory infection were recorded. A mast cell count of more than 20 cells per slide was indicative of atopy and there was a clear correlation between eosinophilia and mastocytosis in the nasal smear. No type of allergy seemed to be significantly predominant in the total material, but in young children aged 0--3 years mastocytosis was clearly related to food allergy. The examination of nasal smears for mast cells is a valuable test in diagnosing atopy in children and especially food allergy among young children. However, the test is not reliable enough to be used as a single screening test.

Twenty-one patients with vasomotor rhinitis, with no relevant allergens known, completed a special double-blind trial of beclomethasone dipropionate aerosol (BDA) and placebo intra-nasally. Each patient took 200, 400 and 800 mug BDA and placebo during four consecutive 2-week periods and in different sequences. The symptom scores of the last week of each period of nasal blockage, watery secretion and sneezing were significantly reduced by all doses of BDA as compared with placebo. There were no differences between the effects of the different doses of BDA except for secretion, which was reduced more by using 800 than 200 mug. Cortisol in serum and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids in 24-hour urine were not significantly changed by BDA treatment and no increased frequency of pathogenic bacteria or fungi could be demonstrated in the nasal secretion. For treatment of patients with vasomotor rhinitis, intra-nasal BDA in a daily dose of 200 mug can be recommended when antihistamines, sympathomimetic drugs and sodium cromoglycate are not sufficiently effective.

The prevalence of chronic and allergic rhinitis was studied in an unselected population sample consisting of 315 university students and 319 school children. History was taken by questionnaire, nasal appearance was examined by rhinoscopy, and a nasal smear was studied in all subjects. For comparison, nasal smears were also collected from 60 normal infants. Allergic rhinitis complaints were reported by 28% of the students and by 13% of the school children, with no significant difference in sex distribution. The cytological examination revealed secretion eosinophilia in 28%, of the students, 28% of the school children, and 22% of the infants. Secretion eosinophilia correlated significantly with allergic rhinitis history, and with nasal mucosal swelling and nasal secretion seen on rhinoscopy. Nasal secretion neutrophilia, which occurred in 47% of the students, 79% of the school children and 97% of the infants, seemed to have an adverse effect on the reliability of secretion eosinophilia as an indicator of active nasal allergy. Possible reasons for the rising prevalence rates of allergic rhinitis are discussed.

Extraction and degradation of timothy pollen in saline has been compared with extraction in nasal secretion and gastric fluid. By measuring the absolute amount of one important allergenic substance by quantitative immunoelectrophoresis and the total allergenic activity by RAST as a function of time it was shown that the allergens were extracted extremely fast and that both the total allergenic activity and the concentration of one allergen reached maximum after about 20 min. Compared with saline, extraction under the simulated in vivo conditions gave a lower maximum level and a faster degradation of allergens.