help button home button
AJRCCM
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by NISHINO, T.
Right arrow Articles by SAKURAI, Y.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by NISHINO, T.
Right arrow Articles by SAKURAI, Y.

Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 156, Number 1, July 1997, 309-313

Nasal Inhalation of l-menthol Reduces Respiratory Discomfort Associated with Loaded Breathing

TAKASHI NISHINO, YUGO TAGAITO, and YASUYOSHI SAKURAI

Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Chiba University

To test the hypothesis that stimulation of cold receptors in the upper airway may alleviate the sensation of respiratory discomfort, we investigated the effects of nasal inhalation of l-menthol (a specific stimulant of cold receptors) on the respiratory sensation and ventilation during the loaded breathing in 11 normal subjects. Subjects were asked to rate their sensation of respiratory discomfort using a visual analog scale (VAS) while breathing on a device with a flow-resistive load (180 cm H2O/L/s) or with an elastic load (75.5 cm H2O/L). The effects of inhalation of l-menthol on ventilation and respiratory sensation were evaluated by comparing the steady-state values of ventilatory variables and VAS scores obtained before, during, and after l-menthol inhalation. In 8 of 11 subjects inhalation of strawberry-flavored air instead of l-menthol was performed during loaded breathing. Both during the flow-resistive loading and the elastic loading, inhalation of l-menthol caused a significant reduction in sensation of respiratory discomfort (flow-resistive loading: 62 ± 14 [mean ± SD] VAS units before inhalation versus 36 ± 16 during inhalation, p < 0.01; elastic loading: 68 ± 13 before inhalation versus 55 ± 17 during inhalation, p < 0.01) without a significant change in breathing pattern and ventilation. Comparison of the effects between the flow-resistive loading and the elastic loading also revealed that the reduction in VAS score was more during the flow-resistive loading than during the elastic loading (p < 0.01). Inhalation of strawberry-flavored air caused neither changes in VAS score nor changes in breathing pattern and ventilation, indicating that olfaction is not a contributing factor in the relief of respiratory discomfort. We concluded that stimulation of cold receptors in the upper airway with nasal inhalation of l-menthol reduces the sensation of respiratory discomfort associated with loaded breathing. This effect is more effective during the flow-resistive loading than during the elastic loading.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Eur Respir JHome page
S. Redolfi, M. Raux, C. Donzel-Raynaud, C. Morelot-Panzini, M. Zelter, J-P. Derenne, T. Similowski, and C. Straus
Effects of upper airway anaesthesia on respiratory-related evoked potentials in humans
Eur. Respir. J., December 1, 2005; 26(6): 1097 - 1103.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.Home page
C. PEIFFER, J.-B. POLINE, L. THIVARD, M. AUBIER, and Y. SAMSON
Neural Substrates for the Perception of Acutely Induced Dyspnea
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., March 15, 2001; 163(4): 951 - 957.
[Abstract] [Full Text]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Proc. Am. Thorac. Soc. Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol.
Copyright © 1997 American Thoracic Society 		  ATS Par News