To date, there has not been sufficient experimental evidence to demonstrate the pharmacological effect of secretolytic and mucolytic drugs. Scintigraphic studies to detect the mucociliary clearance in the maxillary sinus before and after application of a secretolytic drug (Gelomyrtol(R) forte, G.Pohl-Boskamp, Hohenlockstedt, Germanym) were perfomed on four healthy persons and one patient having undergone sinus surgery. The most important parameters was the mucociliary transport velocity of the "region of interest-maxillary sinus" and the increase of radioactivity accumulated in a swab placed in the middle nasal meatus. Measurements were done with a gamma-camera, 99m Technetium-sulphur colloid was used as the radiopharmacon. A dose of 1 Mbq in 0.2 ml NaCl-solution was injected into the maxillary sinus. The results showed a clear increase of mucociliary transport velocity in the maxillary sinus after intake of secretolytics in connection with an increase of radioactivity in the swab. The results can be explained by the secretolytic and secretomotoric effects of the investigated drug. The study reveals that ethereal oils have secretolytic effects and also have a pharmacological effect on the mucociliary apparatus.
Colloids ; Ether ; Humans ; Maxillary Sinus* ; Mucociliary Clearance* ; Oils ; Radioactivity