Reversal of Tobacco-Related Sinusitis (Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute (FAMRI) Young Clinical Scientist Award)

By using patient screening questionnaires and measuring hair nicotine, a well acknowledged biomarker of exposure to tobacco smoke, we will attempt a more objective study to examine the association between tobacco smoke and chronic rhinosinusitis. (CRS) Likewise, zinc deficiency is documented in numerous animal and human studies to decrease resistance to infectious diseases and is especially common among smokers. We will explore our hypothesis that SHS exposure and zinc deficiency contribute to CRS. To accomplish this, we will measure serum zinc and hair nicotine levels in CRS patients and correlate them to a variety of CRS diagnostic indicators. A second objective of this study is investigating alterations within the epithelium lining the sinonasal cavities in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. The alterations may be one or a combination of anatomic, genetic, inflammatory, or infectious etiologies. To further investigate these possibilities we plan on taking residual clinical material from endoscopic sinus surgery specimens and performing various in vitro investigations including but not limited to microarray analysis, northern and western blot analysis, ciliary beat frequency analysis, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, and propagation of tissue with tissue culture techniques. Tissues taken from non-sinusitis patients undergoing sinonasal surgery will serve as a non-chronic rhinosinusitis control source of sinus mucosa.