Dose-dependent stereoselective activation of the trigeminal sensory system by nicotine in man.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Therapeutic nicotine (patch, non-peptide), published as a randomized controlled trial.

Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAchR) subunits are expressed in trigeminal primary afferents and could constitute the receptors involved in nicotine perception.

Who Took Part

PubMed indexes the participants as adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

In addition, subjects rated the intensity of 'odorous', 'burning' and 'stinging' sensations.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind and crossover study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Therapeutic nicotine (patch, non-peptide) and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

As a double-blind Therapeutic nicotine (patch, non-peptide) study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

Each person switched between Therapeutic nicotine (patch, non-peptide) and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

Trigeminal detection thresholds for the 'burning' and 'stinging' sensations and the olfactory detection threshold for the 'odorous' sensation were determined.

In order to quantify trigeminal activation, the researchers recorded summated electrical responses from the respiratory nasal mucosa during stimulation with R(+)-and S(-)-nicotine vapor (40, 80, 120, 160 ng/ml; stimulus duration: 250 ms).

What Was Measured

Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAchR) subunits are expressed in trigeminal primary afferents and could constitute the receptors involved in nicotine perception.

The subject headings attached to it are Nicotine, Nicotinic Agonists, Sensory Thresholds, Stereoisomerism and Trigeminal Nerve.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and crossover study of Therapeutic nicotine (patch, non-peptide).

Its findings take up roughly 2 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 1999 (Psychopharmacology), a journal based in Germany.

More context: the Therapeutic nicotine (patch, non-peptide) compound page, all human trials.