The importance of improved nasal breathing: a review of the Nozovent nostril dilator.

The Nozovent nostril dilator improves nasal breathing to the same degree as topical decongestants and reduces mouth dryness at night in 51% of nocturnal mouth breathers. It does not help every snorer but reduces the snoring heard by the sleeping partner in about 50%, improves the respiratory disturbance index significantly in 19% and gives less morning and daytime tiredness in 40% of snorers. The medium CPAP pressure can be significantly reduced with the dilator.

Nitric oxide production in the sphenoidal sinus by the inducible and constitutive isozymes of nitric oxide synthase.

Objective: To study the production of nitric oxide (NO), and the presence of different isoforms of the NO-synthesising enzyme, NO-synthase (NOS), in the paranasal sinus.

Materials And Methods: Ten patients, undergoing surgery for pituitary adenoma, were examined for the presence of NO gas in the sphenoidal and maxillary sinus. The distribution of different NOS isozymes in mucosal biopsies from sphenoid and maxillary sinus and ethmoidal cells was studied.

Sinuscopy in patients with titanium implants in the nose and sinuses.

Foreign bodies in the nose and sinuses can cause chronic infections. Long titanium fixtures through the maxilla to the zygomatic bone were followed up with a sinuscope in 14 patients after more than one year. There were no signs of infection or inflammation in the mucosa around the fixtures.

Zygoma fixture in the management of advanced atrophy of the maxilla: technique and long-term results.

Despite refinements in surgical technique, including bone grafting and sophisticated prosthetic reconstructions, there are limitations to what can be achieved with bone-anchored fixed prostheses in patients with advanced atrophy of the maxillae. A new approach was suggested by a long-term study on onlay bone grafting and simultaneous placement of a fixture based on a new design: the zygoma fixture, and the aim of this study was to assess its potential. Twenty-eight consecutive patients with severely resorbed edentulous maxillae were included, 13 of whom had previously had multiple fixture surgery in the jawbone that had failed.

[Follow-up of Cushing syndrome in western Sweden. More than one treatment method needed for cure, hormonal deficiencies common].

Results from a follow-up of all patients with Cushing's syndrome who visited the Division of Endocrinology at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden, during 1997-1998 revealed 28 patients with ACTH-dependent disease and 3 with ACTH-independent disease. Female/male ratio was 4:1 with mean age at diagnosis 30 years. Mean time from first symptoms to diagnosis was three years (range 0-8).

Dynamics of visual improvement following chiasmal decompression. Quantitative pre- and postoperative observations.

Purpose: To study early visual restoration following surgical removal of pituitary adenomas compressing the optic chiasm.

Methods: Eleven patients were examined with high-pass resolution perimetry (HRP) before and after trans-sphenoidal adenomectomy. Visual fields were examined on the second postoperative day.

Nasopharyngeal glioma in a new-born girl.

Nasal gliomas are uncommon tumours of neurogenic origin that occur sporadically. They are diagnosed with MRI and a preoperative biopsy, and surgery is the treatment of choice. Most of the gliomas emerge from the nasal cavity, but only a few cases of nasopharyngeal gliomas have been reported.

Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma: long-term results in preoperative embolized and non-embolized patients.

A treatment and follow-up study of 32 patients with juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) was performed at our clinic between 1974 and 1998. The majority had undergone surgery either via an antral approach or with a lateral rhinotomy. In the 1970s, surgery was combined with ligature of the external carotid artery and, since 1981, it has been combined with preoperative embolization.

Pure sesame oil vs isotonic sodium chloride solution as treatment for dry nasal mucosa.

Objective: To evaluate whether there was any difference in efficacy when nasal mucosa dryness was treated with pure sesame oil (Nozoil) compared with isotonic sodium chloride solution (ISCS).

Design: In a randomized, crossover study, 79 subjects with nasal mucosa dryness were enrolled. Half the subjects received pure sesame oil for 14 days followed by ISCS for 14 days, and the other half received ISCS for 14 days followed by pure sesame oil for 14 days.

Different methods for evaluating daytime tiredness in snoring men.

Many snorers complain of daytime tiredness and reduced mental energy. In 42 middle-aged snoring men, the results of sections relating to mental energy in 2 quality-of-life instruments, energy in the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) and vitality in the Psychological General Well-Being (PGWB) questionnaire, were compared with those of population samples. The snorers were significantly more tired than the population samples (p < 0.

Fewer problems with dry nasal mucous membranes following local use of sesame oil.

Many people experience problems with a dry nasal mucous membrane, often without wondering why. Their noses itch and burn and dried mucus collects there. These problems are exacerbated during the winter, in air-conditioned environments and after nasal irradiation.

Better quality of life when nasal breathing of snoring men is improved at night.

Objective: To evaluate whether improved nasal breathing changes the quality of life in snoring men and improves the female sleeping partners' well-being in the morning.

Design: During 1 month, 42 heavily snoring men slept with a nostril dilator. Before and after 1 month, the snorers rated their daytime tiredness and completed the Nottingham Health Profile questionnaire.

Improved nasal breathing in snorers increases nocturnal growth hormone secretion and serum concentrations of insulin-like growth factor 1 subsequently.

In snoring men improved nasal breathing during sleep has been shown to decrease snoring and morning tiredness. The aim was to evaluate whether improved nasal breathing had any effect on growth hormone (GH) secretion, the nocturnal secretion of GH being associated with deep sleep. Forty-two snoring men, mean age 45 years and mean body mass index 26 kg.

Evaluation of the quality of life of male snorers using the Nottingham Health Profile.

Many snorers complain of tiredness during the day, but little is known about the impact of snoring on daily life in other respects. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of life of middle-aged men who were heavy snorers. We used the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), which has been utilized during the last two decades as an instrument for evaluating the influence different medical conditions have on quality of life.

Transsphenoidal adenomectomy in Cushing's disease via a lateral rhinotomy approach.

Background: Cushing's disease may be treated by surgical pituitary adenomectomy. We present a surgical approach to the pituitary gland that increases the possibilities of a selective adenomectomy, and compare our results with those of other studies.

Methods: A retrospective study of patients with Cushing's disease undergoing transsphenoidal selective adenomectomy via a lateral rhinotomy at Sahlgrenska University Hospital from 1984-93 is presented.

Improved nasal breathing reduces snoring and morning tiredness. A 6-month follow-up study.

Background: Dilation of the nasal valve region can increase the ability to breathe through the nose and reduce the negative intrathoracic pressure required for inspiration. Vibrations of the palate and soft tissues of the throat, which generate snoring sounds, can be prevented when patients inhale less heavily.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect a nostril dilator has on patient snoring and tiredness in the morning and to determine how many patients would continue to use the device for half a year.

Reduced nocturnal asthma by improved nasal breathing.

The nose and not the mouth should be used for breathing as the nose has better air conditioning capacity. When air is inhaled through the mouth it may dry and cool the respiratory mucosa, which can lead to bronchoconstriction in sensitive patients with asthma. By dilating the nostrils you can increase nasal breathing in most subjects.

Effect of local tranexamic acid gel in the treatment of epistaxis.

In patients with nosebleedings, the hemostatic effect of local application of tranexamic acid gel or placebo was compared in a randomized, double-blind, multicenter clinical trial with parallel groups. The times needed to arrest the initial bleeding were recorded, as well as any rebleedings within 10 days. The results showed no significant differences in any of the efficacy variables.

Five-year follow-up of nonsecreting pituitary adenomas.

Nowadays, nonsecreting pituitary adenomas are usually operated on by means of a transsphenoidal approach, and the transseptal way is the most widely used. Since 1982 we have been using lateral rhinotomy instead, resecting bone in the piriform aperture up to the orbit to obtain a good intrasellar view during surgery. In all, 48 patients were operated on between 1982 and 1987, and all of them have since been evaluated in a 5-year follow-up.