Air waves

New findings challenge asthma treatment, reports Arlene Harris.

ONE person a week dies from an asthma-related-illness in Ireland. With 470,000 people with the condition, we have the fourth highest rate of asthma in the world. Sufferers have long been told that controlled management is the answer to keeping the respiratory disease under control. But last week doctors in the US claimed that asthmatics who took a daily low-dose medication as a preventative measure did no better than those who only used their inhalers when they had symptoms.

Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr Homer A Boushey of the University of California said the findings challenge international guidelines which have been in place for 20 years. These recommendations state if a person’s asthma is mild but persistent, they should take an inhaled steroid every day to suppress airway inflammation and reduce the risk of exacerbations.