[The influence of botulinum toxin type A on vasomotor rhinitis and morphological study]

To investigate the effect and mechanisms of botulinum toxin type A(BTA) on vasomotor rhinitis.

A retrospective study of 32 patients with vasomotor rhinitis who received BTA injection at 4 points in bilateral nasal cavities with 2.5 units at each point had been done. The state of rhinorrhea, nasal obstruction, sneeze and nasal mucosa edema of each patient were recorded and scored before and after the application of BTA respectively with follow-ups of 6-30 months. Twelve guinea pigs were randomly divided into 2 groups: BTA group and control group. Merocel sponge soaked with 10 units (0.2 ml) BTA was put into left nasal cavity under general anesthesia for one hour in BTA group. Saline replaced BTA in control group. The inferior turbinate mucosa of guinea pig ware harvested under general anesthesia at 7, 14, 28 days after BTA treatment and was observed with HE staining and electron microscope.

Rhinorrhea improved significantly in all 32 patients while sneeze, nasal obstruction and mucosa edema reduced partly. The reducing of rhinorrhea lasted averagely 6 weeks. Twelve patients had an episode of nasal dryness or increased rhinorrhea at the day of injection. No other complications were found. Seven, fourteen days after local BTA application, the degenerations of glandular epithelium and canal epithelium were observed in nasal mucosa of guinea pigs. Most of the glandular cells showed normal at 28 days after BTA treatment.

BTA can induce the degeneration of glandular cells in nasal mucosa and thus obviously relieve over rhinorrhea of patients with vasomotor rhinitis.