Effects of seaprose on the rheology of bronchial mucus in patients with chronic bronchitis. A double-blind study vs placebo.

There are changes in the rheological characteristics of mucus (viscoelasticity) in several pulmonary pathologies, and especially in chronic bronchitis. Seaprose, a proteolytic enzyme, is one of the pharmacological possibilities for affecting the rheology of bronchial mucus to correct mucostasis and improve its clearance. The action of this drug on the viscoelasticity of bronchial mucus was assessed in a double-blind vs placebo study with 20 randomly balanced chronic bronchitis patients using a new kind of portable rheometer with special features designed for routine bronchial mucus analysis in clinical practice at the patient's bedside. It was found that in the group of patients who were given the placebo, there were no particular changes in the rheological behaviour of mucus, while in those patients who were given seaprose there were significant changes in both viscosity and elasticity at the end of treatment. Eight days after the end of treatment with seaprose, there was still a significant beneficial effect on the viscoelasticity of mucus and a sort of "post-mucolytic effect" can be postulated. Seaprose also had antiinflammatory action, and since in chronic bronchitis there are variable degrees of inflammations, its beneficial long-lasting effect could also be ascribed to this concomitant action.