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Updated: Apr 10, 2026

Dry Powder and Nebulized Aerosol Inhalation of Pharmaceuticals Delivered to Mice Using a Nose-only Exposure System
Published on: April 6, 2017
Aerosol Medications for Treatment of Mucus Clearance Disorders
1Department of Pediatrics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, and the Children's Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia. brubin@vcu.edu.
Abstract:
Airway mucus hypersecretion and secretion retention can result from inflammation, irritation, stimulation, or mucus-producing tumors. Secretion clearance can be furthered hampered by ciliary dysfunction and by weakness or restrictive lung disease, leading to an ineffective cough. There are a number of different mucoactive medications that have been used to reduce hypersecretion, make secretions easier to transport, or increase the efficiency of cough or mucus clearance. In this paper, I review the pathophysiology of secretory hyper-responsiveness and mucus hypersecretion and discuss the different aerosol medications that can be used to augment secretion clearance.
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