ArticlesBaclofen-induced cough suppression in cervical spinal cord injury☆,☆☆,★,★★
Section snippets
Subjects
Twelve male subjects (11 outpatients) with mid-to-lower C-SCI, chronically maintained on baclofen for the relief of muscle spasm, were recruited for study, which was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York. Subjects were without history of pulmonary disease or recent (within 1 month) symptoms of respiratory tract infection, seasonal allergies, postnasal drip, or gastroesophageal reflux. All subjects underwent annual, complete physical
Results
All subjects were able to perform baseline spirometry and capsaicin challenge studies adequately. The induction of 5 or more coughs was achieved in all subjects. Mean ( ± SEM) log C2 and log C5 values for study subjects and controls (fig 1) showed that subjects maintained on baclofen had significantly higher cough thresholds (decreased cough reflex sensitivity) than control subjects.
Discussion
Our finding that chronic therapy with the GABA-B agonist baclofen inhibits the sensitivity of the cough reflex in subjects with C-SCI is consistent with findings of previous studies on the antitussive effect of baclofen in healthy volunteers,7 in patients with idiopathic cough,9 and in patients with cough from angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.10
Because few subjects were available, our study group of 12 subjects included 3 smokers, whereas the control group consisted entirely of
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Cited by (0)
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Supported by the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association.
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No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the authors or upon any organization with which the authors are associated.
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Reprint requests to Peter Dicpinigaitis, MD, Albert Einstein Hospital, 1825 Eastchester Rd, Bronx, NY 10461.
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a. Sigma Chemical Corp, 3050 Spruce St, St. Louis, MO 63103.
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b. Model 646; DeVilbiss Health Care, Inc, Somerset, PA.
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c. Koko DigiDoser; Pulmonary Data Service Instrumentation, Inc., 908 Main St, Louisville, CO 80027.