[Clinical relevance of protease inhibitors in nasal secretions]

The normal human nasal mucous membrane is protected against negative effects of proteases by special inhibitors. This inhibitor pool consists of both secretory-specific and humoral inhibitors. A method is presented to determine the function of protease inhibitors in nasal secretion. Investigations have been carried out on secretions of healthy subjects, as well as patients suffering from sinusitis. The differences are illustrated. The results enable an evaluation of the degree of infection; the course of the disease can be documented. A possibility of producing synthetic inhibitors for therapy is discussed.