Nasal mucociliary transport, number of ciliated cells, and beating pattern in naturally acquired common colds.

Repeated samples of nasal epithelium were taken for in vitro study of the number and motility of ciliated cells (microphoto-oscillographic technique), and nasal mucociliary clearance transport rate was measured (saccharin test) in 26 subjects with naturally acquired common colds. The transport rate was markedly reduced during the disease, and a slight impairment remained even after 32 days. There was a considerable fall in the number of ciliated cells, and regeneration was slow. A moderate and shortlasting change in beating frequency and intracellular synchrony was also observed. It is concluded, that a common cold, as a rule, results in marked and long-lasting impairment of nasal mucociliary clearance function, and this may be the cause of some otherwise unexplainable symptoms from the nose and throat.