As per the scientists, it is the first time in medical science that the process leading to the cough reflex has been identified.
To solve the mystery behind the cough reflex, a team from the Imperial College in London and University of Hull carried out a study in guinea pigs and human volunteers.
Receptors on nerve endings in lungs trigger cough
The researchers noted that environmental irritants like cigarette smoke and air pollution activate the receptors called TRPA 1 found on the nerve endings in the lungs. This in return leads to the cough reflex.
On the other hand, when the receptors were blocked using drugs, the coughing reflex was found to reduce. The team particularly examined the coughing response of the subjects to stimulants found in cigarette.
The researchers cautioned that permanent blocking up of these receptors may prevent the ability to clear the airways. However, if successful, the cure could certainly be used to prohibit chronic coughing, they said.
Professor Maria Belvisi, of the National Heart and Lung Institute and Imperial College, London, said, “For some people chronic coughing can be annoying and uncomfortable, but for others it can be distressing and can have a severe impact on the quality of their life.
“Many people say that certain things in the air can make them cough and we are very excited that we have shown, for the first time, exactly what is probably happening inside the lungs.
“Now that we think that we have cracked the mechanism, we can start investigating whether we can stop people from coughing excessively by blocking the receptor protein that triggers it.”
Findings of the study are published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
The coughing reflex
According to Wikipedia, a cough is a sudden and often repetitively occurring defense reflex which helps to clear the large breathing passages or airways of excess secretions, irritants, foreign particles and microbes.
The violent release of air from the lungs while coughing is usually accompanied with a distinctive sound. Main causes which trigger coughing are smoking, air pollution and asthma.
Most of the times, acute coughing is caused by an infection in the respiratory tract and lasts for a short span of three weeks. But it is chronic if it lasts longer than 8 weeks, in which case it’s certainly a worrisome indication and warrants immediate treatment.
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