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New Severe Asthma Treatment Cut Down Attack By 32%

Asthma is a condition whose symptoms have the potential to make it necessary for one to take count of work time or school days. The American National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute defines it as a chronic disorder of a person’s airways which is of a complex nature; and its symptoms are variable and not of a one-off nature. Such symptoms include the obstruction of one’s airflow, hyper responsive bronchi (bronchospasm), and underlying inflammation. Indeed, it is documented as being common in childhood, affecting as many as 7-10% of all children.

A company called Asthmatx Inc. has sponsored a study focusing on a device going by the name Alair, whose function is to treat asthma through what is officially defined as bronchial thermoplasty. It involves a thin tube being inserted deeply into air passages of a person’s lungs. Thermal energy is emitted by a catheter to eliminate muscle tissue that is responsible for airway constriction in asthma patients.

Typically, this new method involves three sessions of treatment, each of which lasts less than an hour, and the between-sessions interim is about three weeks.

Existing statistics show that the new treatment is able to cut down extreme asthma attack rates by 32%, while a total of 84% of people with severe asthma who used this new therapy were making fewer visits to emergency room. Of the 297 people (in six countries) with a severe asthma condition who appropriated this device, all of them reported positive results in that they took fewer days off work or school as a result of asthma symptoms.

In the experimental stages of the treatment, 79% of listed patients reported an improvement in their condition over the course of a year. This statistic is significantly higher than the same statistic for those people given a placebo. Later stage results for the clinical study (Asthma Intervention Research 2 Trial, or AIR2 Trial) were presented during the course of American Thoracic Society’s conference in San Diego, California.

This new treatment has been met with approval in Europe; and Asthmatx Inc. is currently seeking the approval from the United States’ Food and Drug administration for the used of Alair in US.