Parotid Saliva in Cystic Fibrosis: I. Flow Rate

SEVERAL investigators 1,2 have reported that patients with cystic fibrosis of the pancreas exhibited increased rates of flow of parotid saliva when the secretion was collected without stimulation. When the parotid secretion was reflexly stimulated, a higher flow rate was noted in the cystic fibrosis patients in one investigation 3 but not in another. 4 Alterations in parotid fluid flow rate are of importance as a possible measure of the activity of the autonomic nervous system since it has been frequently hypothesized that the autonomic nervous system may in some way be involved in the production of the defects associated with cystic fibrosis. 1,2,5,6 It was the purpose of this study to investigate these problems further by determining the parotid fluid flow rate under two types of conditions, ie, (a) stimulated and (b) unstimulated and following graded stimuli. Methods For the first condition, 15 individuals, 4 to 23 years of