Increased ciliary beating frequency of nasal mucosa following immunotherapy for allergy

The present study was designed to elucidate the effect of immunotherapy on the beating frequency of nasal cilia in patients with nasal allergy. Of 40 patients with nasal allergy due to Dermatophagoides farinae, 20 were treated with immunotherapy by the use of D farinae extracts, and 20 control patients were treated with antihistamine tablets. Mucosal pieces were taken from the right inferior turbinate before and 1 year after the initiation of treatment, and the ciliary beating frequency (CBF) was examined by a photoelectric method. The use of antihistamine tablets did not increase CBF even when it relieved the nasal symptoms. Immunotherapy, on the other hand, increased CBF in 66.7% of patients when it alleviated their nasal symptoms. The CBF before immunotherapy of patients who showed an increase CBF after treatment was statistically higher than that of patients who did not.