A nocturnal decline of salivary pH associated with airway hyperresponsiveness in asthma

概要

論文の詳細を見る
Salivary pH is associated with esophageal acid reflux and neutralization ofesophageal acid. In this study, we assessed the association between nocturnal decline ofsalivary pH and airway hyperresponsiveness. Salivary pH was serially assessed in 9 patientswith mild asthma (7 men and 2 women ;mean age 33.3 years ;mean %predictedFEV1.0 89.4%) and 10 healthy volunteers (6 men and 4 women ; mean age 31.2 years) usinga pH indicator tape. The buffering capacity of saliva was defined as the median effectivedose (ED50) for acidification of saliva with 0.01 N HCl, and airway responsiveness wasdefined as the dose of methacholine producing a 35% fall in Grs (PD35-Grs). There was asignificant correlation between the values obtained from the pH indicator tape and thoseobtained from the electrometric pH meter. Using the indicator tape for sequential monitoring,we observed a nocturnal fall (pH) in salivary pH in all subjects. A significant correlationwas found between airway hyperresponsiveness (PD35-Grs) and eitherpH or ED50in mildly asthmatic patients. Vagal reflux dysfunction might contribute to nocturnalsalivary pH as well as to airway hyperresponsiveness in mild asthmatics.