Biochemical analysis of vocal fold polyps.

Arachidonic acid metabolites (AAm) have important regulatory functions within several areas of otorhinolaryngology: modulation of immune and allergic responses, inflammation, allergy, etc. The aetiology of vocal fold polyps is still obscure as are the possible mechanisms responsible for their forming and developing. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the relationship between release of prostaglandins (PGE2, PGI2) and tromboxans (TxA2) from vocal fold polyps ex vivo in 21 patients, in comparison to normal airway mucosa. The production of PGE2 by vocal fold polyps was less than in the controls (ng/ml) (0.5 +/- 0.54; n = 21 vs. 1.09 +/- 0.78; n = 21) (p less than 0.05) but higher than in nasal polyps (0.14 +/- 0.11; n = 16) (p less than 0.01). Prostacyclin production by vocal fold polyps (0.99 +/- 0.92) was less than in control mucosa (2.24 +/- 1.93) (p less than 0.01), but higher than by nasal polyps (0.26 +/- 0.14) and less than in controls (0.99 +/- 0.73) (p less than 0.01) or nasal polyps (0.52 +/- 0.04) (p less than 0.01).