(Press-News.org) A rarely prescribed asthma drug is easier to use and just as effective as conventional treatment with inhalers, according to a new study led by the University of East Anglia (UEA).
Publishing tomorrow in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers followed 650 patients with chronic asthma for two years. They found that tablets called leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) managed the disease equally successfully as steroid inhalers and other 'preventer' inhalers when used in addition to steroid inhalers.
LTRAs - sold under the brand names 'Singulair' (montelukast) and 'Accolate' (zafirlukast) – have long been on the market as an alternative to the steroid inhalers commonly used by asthmatics to ward off attacks. They have historically been less fashionable than inhalers, however, and are considered by some to be less effective. Under UK guidelines they are currently recommended as third or fourth steps in asthma management. As a result, LTRAs are far less frequently prescribed than inhalers.
The results indicate that LTRAs could provide an effective alternative to steroid inhalers and other 'preventer' inhalers when used in addition to steroid inhalers, which could be useful for the more than 80 per cent of patients who have problems using inhalers, are unable to use them due to side effects, or do not want to take steroids.
"We hope these findings will increase the options for healthcare professionals when prescribing for this common but disruptive disease," said lead author Prof David Price of the University of Aberdeen and UEA.
"We found that adherence to treatment was vastly improved - by as much as 60 per cent – when patients were given the once-a-day LTRA tablets and patients did not have to worry about using appropriate inhaler technique."
Co-author Dr Stanley Musgrave of Norwich Medical School at UEA added: "LTRAs are easy to use and can help patients control their asthma effectively and improve their quality of life."
Known as ELEVATE, the randomised controlled trial was designed by the UEA and University of Aberdeen team to examine asthma therapies in a real-world setting. The volunteer patients were recruited from 53 doctors' surgeries in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire and Dorset. All were unpaid. The trial was sponsored by the NHS's Health Technology Assessment programme.
Asthma is an increasing problem affecting around 300 million people worldwide, including eight per cent of the UK adult population, and can significantly impact on a person's quality of life. It is a chronic condition characterised by inflammation of the airways causing wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. World Asthma Day took place on May 3 2011.
INFORMATION:
'Leukotriene antagonists as a first-line or add-on asthma controller therapy' by D Price (UEA/University of Aberdeen), S Musgrave (UEA), L Shepstone (UEA), E Hillyer (Research in Real Life), E Sims (UEA), R Gilbert (Castle Partnership), E Juniper (McMaster University), J Ayres (University of Birmingham), L Kemp (Research in Real Life), A Blyth (UEA), E Wilson (UEA), S Wolfe (Thorpewood Surgery), D Freeman (Sheringham Medical Practice), M Mugford (UEA), J Murdoch (UEA) and I Harvey (UEA) will be published in the May 5 2011 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
END
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in collaboration with researchers at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, have made a critical discovery that may lead scientists to abandon the use of broad conventional ethnic labels—African-American, Hispanic, and Caucasian—to estimate a patient's genetic risk for disease. This first-of-its kind study conducted with diverse patients receiving care at a single urban academic medical center, marks an important step in the clinical application of personalized medicine. The data are published online in the peer-reviewed ...
New Law Gives FDA Tools to Fight Food Contamination
This year, one out of every six Americans will get a food borne illness or disease. While many of those who become sick from eating contaminated food will suffer flu-like symptoms, others will become much sicker. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), of the estimated 48 million people who will become ill, more than 100,000 will require hospitalization and as many as 5,000 will die.
In an effort to reduce the frequency of food borne illnesses, an important new law was signed by the President this past ...
"The rich-get-richer effect," is famous not only in sociology. It applies to the success of innovators as well. But if attention is paid only to people who are already at the top, how are scientific revolutions possible? A new publication investigating careers of Nobel Prize winners gives insight into this stunning phenomenon.
"Attention is a scarce resource in today's society," says Dirk Helbing, professor at ETH Zurich, and Bernardo Huberman, Director of the Social Computing Lab at HP, immediately adds: "We live in a world where information overload is normal. Attention ...
Using age alone to identify those at risk of heart disease or stroke could replace current screening methods without diminishing effectiveness, according to a groundbreaking study published today in the open access journal PLoS ONE.
Existing screening methods which include measuring cholesterol and blood pressure are expensive and time consuming. The authors of the new study from Barts and The London Medical School say that this finding could save thousands of lives by making it easier for more people to have access to preventive treatment.
The new study compared screening ...
Construction Defects Are Serious Concerns in the Pacific Northwest
After a ten year run, the 25-story McGuire apartment complex located in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood is scheduled for demolition thanks to construction defects that would cost more to fix than the building is worth. Rusting cables with ends that were never coated with anti-corrosion agents vein the tower's concrete slabs and pockets in the building's concrete foundation were never properly sealed, leading to the tower's demise. The McGuire tower has been vacant for some time, and within 12 to 16 months, ...
The number of children dying a violent death has fallen substantially in England and Wales over the past 30 years, reveals research published ahead of print in Archives of Disease in Childhood.
But the authors warn that, while the figures are encouraging, there is no room for complacency because at least one child or young person still dies every week as a result of assault.
The public inquiries following the deaths of Victoria Climbié in 2000, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002 and Peter Connelly in 2007 were critical of the ability of child protection services ...
Women who develop cerebral aneurysms are less likely to have taken the oral contraceptive pill or hormone replacement therapy, suggesting taking oestrogen could have a protective effect, reveals research published in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery.
Cerebral aneurysms, weaknesses in the blood vessel walls of the brain which cause the vessels to balloon, occur more frequently in women, and it has been suggested that female hormones may play a role in their development. If the cerebral aneurysm ruptures, because the ballooning wall bursts, this can be life threatening ...
In May 2009 Alex Membrillo and business partner Stephen Popov co-founded Cardinal Web Solutions (CWS). The company has quickly grown into a one of Atlanta's most successful Interactive marketing agencies, grossing over $700,000 in revenue during 2010. Currently the #1 "Atlanta SEO Company" on Google, CWS's services include Atlanta SEO (search engine optimization), pay per click advertising, Website design, e-mail marketing and social media management.
Cardinal Web Solutions is located in Norcross, GA, part of metro Atlanta, and services all industries and ...
Scientists are reporting development and successful testing of a new way to determine whether cola drinks — advertised as being made with natural ingredients and sold at premium prices — really do contain natural flavoring. The report appears in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research.
In the study, Pier Giorgio Righetti and colleagues explain that cola drinks purportedly made from natural cola nuts are becoming popular and are sold in many natural food stores. Genuine cola "nuts" are seeds from the fruit of the cola tree, which is native to African rainforests, and they are ...
Scientists are reporting an in-depth analysis of how the caffeine in coffee, tea, and other foods seems to protect against conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and heart disease on the most fundamental levels. The report, which describes the chemistry behind caffeine's antioxidant effects, appears in ACS' The Journal of Physical Chemistry B.
Annia Galano and Jorge Rafael León-Carmona describe evidence suggesting that coffee is one of the richest sources of healthful antioxidants in the average person's diet. Some of the newest research points to caffeine (also present ...
