Discovery may help cure coughing misery

Published on Wednesday 8 July 2009 22:02

SCIENTISTS have discovered a new group of molecules on the surface of nerve cells that make us cough when they are irritated, it emerged yesterday

The findings, presented at the British Pharmacological Society's Summer Meeting in Edinburgh this week, could lead to new drugs to treat coughing.

Professor Alyn Morice, a clinical pharmacologist at the University of Hull, said: "Cough is the commonest symptom for which medical advice is sought and accounts for over half of new patient consultations to a GP.

"Chronic cough can be socially isolating and disabling, and people come from all over Europe to my cough clinic because the cough is ruining their lives. Yet treatment options are limited, with remedies little better than honey and lemon."

Prof Morice and his team at Castle Hill Hospital in Hull have identified a group of protein molecules called receptors that sit on the surface of nerve cells and allow signals to be passed inside nerve cells. The team has shown the "very cold" receptor (TRPA1) on nerve cells is stimulated by a cinnamon extract in normal volunteers, leading them to cough.

The researchers have also successfully cloned the TRPA1 receptor to allow them to investigate the nerve endings.

The researchers have just begun a large-scale patient study that will try to identify existing blocking agents, although the ultimate goal of research is to restore the cough reflex to normal levels, rather than stop it.