Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0010200 (cough)
 23,843 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Menthol and other aromatic vapours have been widely used in the symptomatic treatment of upper respiratory tract infections, although there is little objective evidence as to their benefit. We have investigated the action of aromatic vapours on the cough reflex in conscious guinea-pigs. Animals (n = 13) were pretreated with air or test vapours for 5 min at a rate of 1 l/min. One minute later the animal was challenged with aerosolized citric acid for 2 min. Control responses to air pretreatment were not significantly different throughout the procedures. Three concentrations of each aromatic vapour were used (3, 10 and 30 micrograms/l menthol, 50, 133 and 500 micrograms/l camphor and 0.8, 2.7 and 8 mg/l cineole). Menthol proved the most effective antitussive--10 and 30 micrograms/l produced a significant 28 and 56% reduction in cough frequency--500 micrograms/l camphor gave a significant 33% reduction, while cineole, at the concentrations used, had no significant effect. An increase in cough latency coincided with a reduction in cough frequency. These results demonstrate the efficacy of aromatic vapours as antitussives in chemically induced cough.
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PMID:The antitussive effects of menthol, camphor and cineole in conscious guinea-pigs. 782 36

Menthol, in lozenges, nasal sprays, vapo-rubs, inhalers, and cough syrups, is widely used as a treatment for rhinitis that is associated with acute upper respiratory tract infection and allergy. Menthol as a plant extract has been used in traditional medicine in Asia for the treatment of respiratory diseases for hundreds of years, but it was only introduced to the West as a medicine at the end of the 19th century. With the recent discovery of a menthol receptor on the sensory nerves that modulate the cool sensation, menthol has graduated from the realms of herbal medicine into the field of molecular pharmacology. This review concerns the physiologic and pharmacologic mechanisms that underlie the widespread use of menthol as a treatment for the relief of nasal congestion associated with rhinitis and its effects on the drive to breathe and symptomatic relief of dyspnea.
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PMID:Menthol: effects on nasal sensation of airflow and the drive to breathe. 1266 69

Menthol, known as a cold receptor agonist, has widely been used in the relief of respiratory symptoms such as coughing and chest congestion. Previous studies have demonstrated that menthol reduces bronchoconstriction and airway hyperresponsiveness. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of menthol and icilin, another cold receptor agonist, on airway smooth muscle contraction. Isometric force was monitored using epithelium-denuded tracheal smooth muscle tissues isolated from guinea pigs. Intracellular Ca(2+) concentrations were assessed by fura-2 fluorescence. (-)Menthol (0.01-1mM) inhibited contraction induced by methacholine (MCh, 0.01-10microM) and high extracellular K(+) concentrations (20-60mM) in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, the increases of intracellular Ca(2+) concentrations induced by MCh or high K(+) were significantly reduced by (-)menthol. Icilin (100microM) also significantly attenuated contraction induced by MCh or high K(+). The inhibitory effect of 1mM (-)menthol on MCh-induced contraction was significantly higher at cool temperature (24-26 degrees C) than at 37 degrees C. The present results demonstrate that inhibition of Ca(2+) influx plays an important role in the menthol-mediated inhibition of contraction in airway smooth muscle. Furthermore, our findings indicate that stimulation of unknown cold receptors may be involved in these mechanisms. These findings suggest that the use of menthol is beneficial for reducing respiratory symptoms because of its inhibitory effects on airway smooth muscle contraction.
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PMID:Inhibition by the cold receptor agonists menthol and icilin of airway smooth muscle contraction. 1864 57

The cold-sensitive cation channel TRPM8 is a target for menthol, which is used routinely as a cough suppressant and as an additive to tobacco and food products. Given that cold temperatures and menthol activate neurons through gating of TRPM8, it is unclear how menthol actively suppresses cough. In this study we describe the antitussive effects of (-)-menthol in conscious and anesthetized guinea pigs. In anesthetized guinea pigs, cough evoked by citric acid applied topically to the tracheal mucosa was suppressed by menthol only when it was selectively administered as vapors to the upper airways. Menthol applied topically to the tracheal mucosa prior to and during citric acid application or administered continuously as vapors or as an aerosol to the lower airways was without effect on cough. These actions of upper airway menthol treatment were mimicked by cold air delivered to the upper airways but not by (+)-menthol, the inactive isomer of menthol, or by the TRPM8/TRPA1 agonist icilin administered directly to the trachea. Subsequent molecular analyses confirmed the expression of TRPM8 in a subset of nasal trigeminal afferent neurons that do not coincidently express TRPA1 or TRPV1. We conclude that menthol suppresses cough evoked in the lower airways primarily through a reflex initiated from the nose.
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PMID:The role of trigeminal nasal TRPM8-expressing afferent neurons in the antitussive effects of menthol. 2364 May 96

An efficient therapy for cough usually requires identification and treatment of the underlying disease, like asthma. However an underlying disease in cough is not found in all cases and conventional treatment of the underlying disease is ineffective against cough. Drug therapy options are available also for these situations. Honey or menthol can be tried for cough associated with respitatory infections, antihistamines for cough associated with allergic rhinitis, blockers of the leukotriene receptor or muscarinic receptor for asthma-associated cough and morphine for cough associated with a malignant disease. Menthol, blockers of the muscarinic receptor, or dextrometorphan can be tried for prolonged idiopathic cough. Codeine is not necessary in the treatment of cough. Refraining from drug treatment should always be considered.
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PMID:[Drug therapy for cough]. 2708 19