Abnormal length of cilia--a cause of primary ciliary dyskinesia--a case report.
A 7-year-old Turkish boy had suffered from chronic coughing from early childhood. Severe bronchiectasis in the right lung was confirmed by bronchography. Ciliary beat frequency determined in a bronchial mucosal biopsy was markedly decreased (5.7 Hz). Electron microscopy revealed cilia with a length of 15 microns. No structural abnormality was found. A possible link between the abnormally long, slow beating cilia and the clinical symptoms is discussed.
Niggemann
B
B
University Childrens Hospital (KAVH), Department Paediatric Pneumology and Immunology, Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany.
Müller
A
A
Nolte
A
A
Schnoy
N
N
Wahn
U
U
D001980:Bronchi; D001987:Bronchiectasis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D002925:Ciliary Motility Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003371:Cough / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009079:Mucociliary Clearance; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011859:Radiography