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Antibiotic treatment targets difficult asthma
December 18, 2007Hunter researchers have shown that a commonly available antibiotic can improve the quality of life of patients with difficult asthma, and may also generate significant health care savings.
Results of a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a top international journal, indicate that macrolide antibiotics could prove a successful therapy in conjunction with current asthma treatment.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Newcastle and Hunter New England Health in collaboration with the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) Viruses, Infections/Immunity,Vaccines and Asthma (VIVA) Research Program.
Current asthma medication is focused on treating a particular cell, called an eosinophil. Increased levels of eosinophils are thought to be responsible for inflammation of the airways. However, almost half of people with asthma symptoms have normal levels of eosinophils.
"In a previous study we have shown that an inflammatory cell called the neutrophil is increased in some asthma patients and that treatments are needed to combat other types of inflammation in people with asthma," said Dr Jodie Simpson from the University of Newcastle's Priority Research Centre for Asthma and Respiratory Diseases. Researchers studied 45 people who had poor asthma control and were taking high daily maintenance doses of inhaled corticosteroids. In addition to their regular asthma therapy, participants received a macrolide antibiotic (called klacid) or placebo medication for eight weeks.
"In this study we have shown that treatment with a macrolide antibiotic for eight weeks significantly reduced inflammation in the airways and improved quality of life in patients with difficult asthma," said Dr Simpson.
"Patients with non-eosinophilic asthma particularly benefited from this treatment and this group of patients had the biggest response to the treatment. This treatment significantly reduced the number of neutrophils in the airway.
"This finding is significant because 5 to 10 per cent of asthma cases are considered difficult and these account for 50 per cent of asthma treatment and health care costs."
Research Australia
Current asthma medication is focused on treating a particular cell, called an eosinophil. Increased levels of eosinophils are thought to be responsible for inflammation of the airways. However, almost half of people with asthma symptoms have normal levels of eosinophils.
"In a previous study we have shown that an inflammatory cell called the neutrophil is increased in some asthma patients and that treatments are needed to combat other types of inflammation in people with asthma," said Dr Jodie Simpson from the University of Newcastle's Priority Research Centre for Asthma and Respiratory Diseases. Researchers studied 45 people who had poor asthma control and were taking high daily maintenance doses of inhaled corticosteroids. In addition to their regular asthma therapy, participants received a macrolide antibiotic (called klacid) or placebo medication for eight weeks.
"In this study we have shown that treatment with a macrolide antibiotic for eight weeks significantly reduced inflammation in the airways and improved quality of life in patients with difficult asthma," said Dr Simpson.
"Patients with non-eosinophilic asthma particularly benefited from this treatment and this group of patients had the biggest response to the treatment. This treatment significantly reduced the number of neutrophils in the airway.
"This finding is significant because 5 to 10 per cent of asthma cases are considered difficult and these account for 50 per cent of asthma treatment and health care costs."
Research Australia
Asthma Current Events and Asthma News RSSPregnant women with asthma can be more confident about some medicines
Women can usually keep using the same asthma drugs they were using before they got pregnant. Budesonide sprays are the best studied and can be regarded as safe.
Study shows school-based program enables children and adolescents to better manage chronic disease
A new study has found that a school-based asthma education program conducted in the Oakland, California school district was shown to reduce symptoms and increase the number of days that children who suffered from asthma were able to go to school.
Pregnant women with asthma can be more confident about some medicines
Women can usually keep using the same asthma drugs they were using before they got pregnant. Budesonide sprays are the best studied and can be regarded as safe.
Fall babies: Born to wheeze?
It is said that timing is everything, and that certainly appears to be true for autumn infants. Children who are born four months before the height of cold and flu season have a greater risk of developing childhood asthma than children born at any other time of year, according to new research.
Hospital visits for respiratory illnesses spiked during Southern California wildfires
Raging wildfires that engulfed Southern California earlier this decade not only destroyed neighborhoods laying in their path, they also caused significant health problems for many who lived outside the fires' reach.
The miseries of allergies just may help prevent some cancers, study finds
There may be a silver -- and healthy -- lining to the miserable cloud of allergy symptoms: Sneezing, coughing, tearing and itching just may help prevent cancer -- particularly colon, skin, bladder, mouth, throat, uterus and cervix, lung and gastrointestinal tract cancer, according to a new Cornell study.
Is ineffective esophageal motility associated with gastropharyngeal reflux disease?
IEM is associated with an increased acid clearance times in the distal esophagus. Gastropharyngeal reflux causes supraesophageal manifestations such as globus, chronic cough, hoarseness, asthma, chronic sinusitis, or other otorhinolaryngologic diseases.
Flu vaccination rates lag for at-risk adolescents
Influenza vaccination rates for adolescents who suffer from asthma and other illnesses are still far too low, according to a recent study.
Tweens and teens double use of diabetes drugs
America's tweens and teens more than doubled their use of type 2 diabetes medications between 2002 and 2005, with girls between 10 and 14 years of age showing a 166 percent increase. One likely cause: Obesity, which is closely associated with type 2 diabetes.
Researchers Apply Systems Biology and Glycomics to Study Human Inflammatory Diseases
An innovative systems biology approach to understanding the carbohydrate structures in cells is leading to new ways to understand how inflammatory illnesses and cardiovascular disease develop in humans. The work was described in two recent publications by University at Buffalo chemical engineers.
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