Mizolastine provides effective symptom relief in patients suffering from perennial allergic rhinitis: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study versus loratadine.

Background: Mizolastine is a nonsedating H1 histamine receptor antagonist with additional antiallergic properties currently marketed in Europe for the treatment of seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR) and urticaria.

Objective: This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of mizolastine in PAR compared with loratadine and placebo.

Methods: After a 1-week placebo run-in period, 428 adult PAR patients received placebo (146 of 428), mizolastine 10 mg (141 of 428), or loratadine 10 mg (141 of 428) once daily for 28 days.

[Corticotherapy in ENT. Subglottic laryngitis in children, acute sinusitis, naso-sinusal polyposis, sero-mucous otitis].

Corticosteroid therapy is a key element in the treatment of acute subglottic laryngitis as well as certain types of sinusitis and seromucous otitis. Insufficient or lacking compensatory mechanism in the physiological regulation of the ENT mucosa favors the progression of these different conditions to chronic or life threatening situations, particularly for acute laryngitis. Corticosteroid therapy is one of the management steps; it should be adapted to each individual and of short duration.

[Photochemotherapy in the treatment of carcinoma of the vocal cords of early stage (Tis, T1)].

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is a treatment which can prove interesting in head and neck oncology for small squamous cell carcinomas. We studied 33 patients with vocal cord squamous cell carcinoma at an early stage who have been treated by Photodynamic Therapy from 1986 to 1992. We used a Dye Laser Aurora which produces light with a wavelength of 630 nm.

Chondrosarcoma of the larynx.

A case of a low grade chondrosarcoma of the cricoid cartilage which had been diagnosed initially as a chondroma is presented. The tumour recurred twice after limited surgical resections. Total laryngectomy was inevitable due to near total involvement of the cricoid cartilage and subsequent histological examination revealed a low grade chondrosarcoma.

[Endonasal treatment of iatrogenic or spontaneous cerebrospinal rhinorrhea of the anterior cranial fossa].

There is a 25% risk of meningitis in case of cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea from the anterior cranial fossa. Treatment usually is based on neurosurgery when medical management is unsuccessful. The risk of morbidity and mortality in such operations is important and recurrence is observed in 25% of the cases.

[Ambulatory laser and turbinectomy in the treatment of nasal obstruction. Apropos of 68 cases].

The purpose of this prospective study was to compare subjectively and objectively the efficiency of laser vaporisation against surgical procedure in treatment of nasal obstruction related to vasomotor rhinitis. 40 inferior nasal turbinates laser vaporisations were compared to 28 surgical inferior turbinectomies. This trial was based on rhinomanometric data before and after laser or surgical management and on appreciation of individual nasal comfort.

[Laser CO2 arytenoidectomy by endoscopic approach in bilateral laryngeal paralysis. Apropos of 45 cases].

Between 1980 and 1993, 45 patients with bilateral cord abductor paralysis were treated by carbon dioxide endoscopic laser arytenoidectomy. Thyroid surgery was the main cause of bilateral laryngeal palsy (67%). Seven patients, who were tracheotomised before treatment, were decanulated.

Effect of furosemide on prostaglandin synthesis by human nasal and bronchial epithelial cells in culture.

Inhaled furosemide protects asthmatic subjects against bronchial obstruction caused by indirect provocants. We have attempted to correlate the protective effect of furosemide with its ability to alter prostaglandin (PG) synthesis by the airway epithelium. Human epithelial cells from nasal polyps and bronchi were cultured in DME-Ham's F12 medium with 10% fetal calf serum.

[Injection of collagen in recurrent paralysis after thoracic surgery].

The author describes a new technique of treatment of recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis by intra-cordal injection of collagen after thoracic surgery. After description of the collagen used and the technique of injection, the author presents the results. It is a new method, simple, efficient, well tolerated, giving patients a voice, and treating their swallowing troubles.

Use of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of vocal cord carcinoma.

The photodynamic therapy of superficial vocal cord carcinoma is a promising new technique. Patients were irradiated with 630 nm light from an Aurora dye laser under general anaesthesia 72 h after a haematoporphyrin derivative (HpD) injection. So far, 32 patients have been treated for small epidermoid carcinoma of the glottis without anterior commissure.

[A new endonasal therapy: the endoscopic YAG laser].

Therapeutical fiberscopy permits ambulatory treatment of benign lesions of the nose and cavum with the use of a flexible endoscope on a patient in the sitting position. YAG gives access to the nasal fossa and, more particularly, to the cavum conchae where it is of the utmost value, since this area is normally inaccessible under local anesthesia. In the cavum, we have been able to treat primarily inflammatory lesions of the adenoids, bridles, cysts, and cases of epipharyngitis and tubal catarrh.

[Clinical efficacy of Auricularum compared with its bacteriologic efficacy in vitro].

We compared the clinical efficacy of Auricularum to its bacteriological efficacy in 36 patients with a chronic middle ear disease. The clinical study confirms the very good efficacy of Auricularum with an improvement rate equal to 81% and 69.4% of "very good" results.