Home Interviews Italian doctor sees great potential in Chordate Medical’s treatment

Italian doctor sees great potential in Chordate Medical’s treatment

Italian doctor sees great potential in Chordate Medical’s treatment

17 August, 2021

In Italy, chronic nasal congestion has been treated using Chordate Medical’s treatment method K.O.S. since 2018. One of the physicians who has used K.O.S. since its launch is Professor Lino Di Rienzo Businco, a renowned otolaryngologist and expert in sports medicine who has treated top athletes in Italy’s Olympic team with K.O.S. Professor Businco has seen clear improvements in patients after treatment, which he talks about with BioStock.

Chordate Medical has developed and launched Kinetic Oscillation Stimulation (K.O.S.), a treatment method with long-term effects for treatment of chronic rhinitis (nasal congestion) and chronic migraines.

K.O.S. stimulates the nerves in the nasal mucosa with kinetic oscillations which opens the upper airways and relieves the nasal congestion. K.O.S. is thus an appropriate treatment option for those patients who do not want to undergo an invasive surgery or use addictive nasal spray.

Professor Lino Di Rienzo Businco

Interview with Professor Lino Di Rienzo Businco

In June, BioStock published an interview with Valter Varano, CEO of Chordate Medical’s distributor Vedise Hospital which supplies K.O.S. to hospitals and clinics in Italy. Now we are focusing on the medical profession’s views on Chordate Medical’s treatment method. BioStock reached out to Professor Lino Di Rienzo Businco, a well-known physician in Italy who has been using K.O.S. to treat patients with non-allergic rhinitis for three years.

Professor Di Rienzo Buscino, thank you for joining us for this interview. Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?

– Currently, I am head of the otolaryngology section of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) in Rome, an institute that follows the health of top athletes from around Italy, including those who participate in major sporting events such as the Olympic Games. I am also head of the otolaryngology department at the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in Rome. For both positions, I specialise in the study of the defence mechanisms of the upper airways and how such mechanisms can affect the rest of the body.

– I have dedicated many years to researching minimally invasive techniques, in both the medical and the surgical fields, aimed at treating illnesses related to the respiratory mucosa. I have set up a number of different protocols, especially with balloon-aided treatments like K.O.S., and designed devices focused on keeping airway disturbances under control, such as allergic as well as non-allergic rhinitis.

»I have dedicated many years to researching minimally invasive techniques, in both the medical and the surgical fields, aimed at treating illnesses related to the respiratory mucosa.«

– One of the challenges but also a strength of the otolaryngology field is that it is a multidisciplinary field that often brings together more than one medical specialisation, including neurology, oncology, ear surgery, etc. So, for example, a patient suffering from rhinitis is treated from different medicinal perspectives because inflammation and swelling of the mucous membrane of the nose can manifest with headaches, earaches, disturbances in the lungs, etc. This is a key point when discussing the treatment of rhinitis and the market potential for a product like K.O.S.

 How long have you been using K.O.S. to treat non-allergic rhinitis?

– I have been using K.O.S. since 2018, so, in three years, we have put together and perfected the protocol for K.O.S. as a treatment for rhinitis, which is quickly becoming an alternative to invasive surgery since it accomplishes the same goal of opening up the airways to alleviate typical rhinitis symptoms without the typical complications of surgery, e.g., empty nose which gives the perception of nasal obstruction despite having a clear nasal passage, and also leads to crusting, diminished sense of smell and facial pain.

»After three years of using K.O.S., I can say with confidence that, as a treatment, there is nothing that can compete with it«

– After three years of using K.O.S., I can say with confidence that, as a treatment, there is nothing that can compete with it because, currently, there is no drug on the market or surgical procedure that is able to impact the autonomic nervous system of the nasal mucosa to alleviate inflammation, and thus open up the upper airways, without producing significant side effects. 

What results have you seen in the clinic, and what kind of feedback have you gotten from the patients?

 – I have to say the results we have seen are excellent. In non-allergic rhinitis, the inflammation is usually the result of swollen blood vessels and a build-up of fluid in the tissues of the nose. K.O.S. significantly reduces these symptoms, thus improving breathing capacity and reducing nasal infections caused by something like the common cold. These patients experience a strengthening of the airways overall.

– When we first propose the treatment to patients, they display a bit of hesitancy, a fear of the unknown, let’s say. However, when they realise that the treatment is painless, requiring no anaesthesia or pre-treatment medication of any kind, the patients respond positively and are very happy with the treatment.  

How do you view K.O.S.’s potential within non-allergic rhinitis in Italy (versus surgery)?

– The potential is quite high in Italy, especially compared to northern Europe and even North America. This is mainly due to differences in climate as well as cultural differences – the warmer, more humid climate of the southern European states makes people more prone to non-allergic rhinitis. Furthermore, we see that the northern European as well as North American countries tend to favour more aggressive and invasive surgery techniques for treating this type of rhinitis.

»The potential is quite high in Italy, especially compared to northern Europe and even North America.«

– We also see an increase in non-allergic rhinitis in regions of high urbanisation, where pollution levels are elevated. Unfortunately, many Italian cities rank quite low in terms of air quality compared to other European countries – another factor leading to higher levels of non-allergic rhinitis.

I understand that you have treated some of the Italian Olympic athletes, what can you tell us about that?

– Indeed, athletes performing at that level, especially those participating in high intensity sports where climate is a major factor, e.g., kayaking, long distance running, cycling etc., rely on optimal oxygen intake, which is driven mainly by a healthy nasal mucosa. This is where a treatment like K.O.S. can produce immense benefits, especially if done periodically, up to four times a year, I would say, because it can help reduce recovery time between training sessions, and can lead to fewer injuries, thus prolonging an athlete’s career and producing better results overall. From an athlete’s perspective, K.O.S. is equivalent to a type of physiotherapy for the nose – it makes the cells or the mucosa work more efficiently to reduce inflammation and improve airflow through the nose.

– However, it is important to keep in mind that these benefits do not only pertain to athletes, but to non-athletes as well. A healthy oxygen intake level has a significant impact on everyday life and on cardiovascular function overall. Rhinitis makes breathing difficult, therefore, if not properly treated, over time it will reduce the ability to focus, thus impacting a person’s performance at work or at school. It can also compromise the quality of sleep, which in turn leads to an increase in daytime fatigue with cardio-respiratory and metabolic overload.

– Thus, for an Olympic athlete, the use of K.O.S. as a treatment could mean the difference between a gold and a silver medal, but for a non-athlete, this could mean living a more comfortable life, and even preventing a number of diseases, included life-threating diseases such as stroke and heart attack.

»For an Olympic athlete, the use of K.O.S. as a treatment could mean the difference between a gold and a silver medal, but for a non-athlete, this could mean living a more comfortable life, and even preventing a number of diseases«

The content of BioStock’s news and analyses is independent but the work of BioStock is to a certain degree financed by life science companies. The above article concerns a company from which BioStock has received financing.

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