Scientists have found a new treatment for people with asthma and COPD that may be more effective than current options.
Over the past 50 years, treatment options for asthma attacks or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which are similar diseases, have not changed significantly. The findings, published November 27 in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, suggest they could be “game-changing” for millions of people with asthma and COPD around the world.
Professor Mona Fadl, the lead researcher in a trial of a new treatment from King’s College in London, told the American magazine Newsweek:
“The only treatment we have for seizures is steroids, which are not always effective and can cause serious side effects.”
Traditional treatment and new treatment
When patients are given steroids, such as a drug called prednisolone, to treat an asthma attack, they may reduce inflammation in the lungs but increase the risk of serious conditions such as diabetes or osteoporosis.
Many patients who use steroids fail treatment, which means they may need more steroids, be hospitalized again, or die within 90 days.
Thanks team studied the effect of injecting patients with benralizumab, a laboratory-made protein designed to act as an antibody that targets a specific type of white blood cell called an eosinophil, to reduce lung inflammation.
Eosinophils are responsible for approximately 30% of COPD exacerbations and half of asthma attacks.
Benralzumab is currently used to treat severe asthma, but it is not used to treat COPD or asthma attacks.
The thanks team divided more than 150 patients suffering from asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and receiving treatment in emergency departments in British hospitals, into 3 groups:
- The group received bernralzumab and placebo tablets.
- A group received steroids and a dummy injection.
- One group received both bernalizumab and steroids.
Neither the patients nor the researchers knew who got what from these medications to ensure that psychological or any non-drug-related factors did not influence the study results.
After 28 days, respiratory symptoms — cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, and phlegm — improved better with bernalzumab.
After 90 days, the number of patients who had failed treatment in the benralizumab group was 4 times lower than in the steroid group. People who were given benalzumab reported an improvement in their quality of life.
asthma
Asthma is a chronic lung condition that causes inflammation and narrowing of the airways in the lungs. It affects 6.2% of children and 8.7% of adults in the United States, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 2022.
Asthma can make breathing difficult and lead to symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. “It is a common condition, but for many, it is a major condition that interferes with daily activities such as work, exercise, and caring for others,” she said.
An asthma attack can be serious and life-threatening when you develop rapid worsening or shortness of breath, and you see no improvement in symptoms after using an inhaler.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
COPD is a long-term lung condition that causes damage or blockage of the airways, often due to smoking or air pollution. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 16 million adults in the United States suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Fadl said in a statement that this treatment “could be a game-changer for people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and that benralizumab was safe and effective.”