[The relationship between the number of the autonomic nerve receptors and degree of hyperreactive nasal symptoms in patients with hyperesthetic rhinitis].

It is generally accepted that abnormal autonomic responsiveness may contribute to the pathogenesis of hyperesthetic rhinitis. Histologically, in the nasal mucosa, cholinergic fibers are found close to blood vessels, but are particularly numerous around the glands. Adrenergic fibers are found mainly around the vascular structures. Physiological and pharmacological studies demonstrate that parasympathetic hypersensitivity causes hypersecretion, and sympathetic hyposensitivity causes vasodilatation. alpha 1-adrenergic receptor function is dominant for this vasodilatation. Using radioligand binding techniques, it has been found that there is an increased number of muscarinic cholinergic receptors and a decreased number of alpha 1- and beta-adrenergic receptors in patients with nasal allergy, while the binding affinities do not change. In this report, using radioligand binding techniques, we investigated the relationships between the number of receptors and the degree of the hyperreactive nasal symptoms in patients with hyperesthetic rhinitis. The results are as follows. 1. The number of muscarinic cholinergic receptors of human nasal mucosa in patients with hyperesthetic rhinitis was related significantly (P less than 0.01) to the degree of hypersecretion induced by methacholine and frequency of blowing nose estimated from allergy diary. 2. There was no relationship between frequency of sneezing and the number of muscarinic cholinergic receptors. 3. The number of alpha 1-adrenergic receptors was related significantly (P less than 0.05) to the degree of swelling of nasal mucosa induced by methoxyamine. Judging from these results, it was assumed that pathogenesis of hyperreactive nasal symptoms may be associated at least partially to the changes of number of autonomic nerve receptors in the nasal mucosa.