Treatment Abolishes Early Asthmatic Responses

A study has shown that a new asthma therapy that increases the ability of the lungs to protect themselves from irritants is able to completely eliminate early asthmatic responses to allergens. The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society in Atlanta (GA, USA).

Seven subjects with a history of mild allergic asthma were randomized to receive either an inhaled powder called Pumactant or a placebo before receiving a standard bronchial provocation test. In this test, the subjects inhaled five breaths of increasing concentrations of allergens. In the subjects inhaling Pumactant, the customary early airway narrowing accompanied by shortness of breath, chest tightness, and cough was completely eliminated. There were no notable side effects.

A common feature of respiratory distress is a dysfunction of the surface coating, or surfactant, in the lungs. The body's natural surfactant is a mixture of phospholipids, neurtral lipids, and proteins that protects lung tissue. Pumactant is a mixture of two of the naturally occurring phospholipids (dipalmitoylphosphatidycholine and phosphatidyl glycerol). The therapy was developed by Britannia Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Redhill, UK).

"After seeing the dramatic responses in this study, we believe Pumactant will be very influential in protecting asthma sufferers from not only allergens but a variety of irritants that exacerbate respiratory distress,” said Prof. Stephen Holgate, of the University of Southampton School of Medicine, who helped conduct the study.




Related Links:
Britannia Pharma