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First asthma treatment discovered after 50 years of research
2024-11-28 20:17:10 / JETË
Researchers say they have found the first new treatment - in 50 years - for asthma attacks, according to the BBC.
The injection dampens a part of the immune system that can go into overdrive in both asthma flare-ups and a lung condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Benralizumab is already used in the most severe cases, but recent research suggests it could be used routinely for about two million BM attacks each year.
The research team at King's College London said the drug was a "game changer" that could "revolutionize" asthma care.
According to the study, not all asthma or COPD attacks are the same. Instead, different parts of the immune system reacted en masse in different patients.
"Now we can see that there are different models of inflammation, and provide the right treatment, for the right patient, at the right time", said Prof. Mona Bafadhel.
Benralizumab targets a type of white blood cell - called eosinophils - that can cause inflammation and damage to the lungs.
Eosinophils are involved in about half of asthma attacks and a third of COPD flares.
If such an attack – which includes difficulty breathing, coughing and chest tightness – cannot be controlled with regular inhalers – then doctors will recommend steroid medication.
The study, with the participation of 158 people, monitored the patients for three months.
Results in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine found a treatment failure rate of -74% when taking steroids and 45% with the new therapy.
People treated with the new therapy were less likely to be hospitalized, need another round of treatment, or die.
Volunteers also reported improved symptoms and a better quality of life with the new drug.
Alison Spooner, who is 55 and from Oxfordshire, was one of the people who took part in the study.
She has had asthma since childhood, but it got worse over the past five years and she has had three major attacks.
Alison said she felt very different after the injection.
"Unfortunately, no medicine completely eliminates asthma, but this medicine is the best. It's a miracle actually," she added.
"Benralizumab" is not ready for large-scale use.
It will still take a larger trial, which will start in 2025 and last two years, to be sure for use. Anyone already given these drugs should continue to follow their prescription.
This study will also need to assess cost-effectiveness as monoclonal antibodies, such as this therapy, are expensive drugs.
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