[A clinical study on the effect of non-adrenergic non-cholinergic nerves in asthma]

Non-adrenergic non-cholinergic (NANC) nerves are the third nervous system in the lung. There are increasing evidences that the main transmitters of NANC inhibitory (NANC-i) nerves and NANC excitatory (NANC-e) nerves are vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and substance P (SP) respectively. We measured the levels of plasma VIP. SP and bronchial responsiveness in the patients with asthma. Chronic bronchitis and healthy subjects. The results showed that VIP level is decreased and negatively correlated with airway resistance, whereas SP level is increased and positively correlated with bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) in asthma. It is suggested that overexcitation of NANC-e nerves and deficiency of NANC-i nerves are closely related with asthma attack and BHR.