Asthma Treatment Reduces Use of Corticosteroids

A new treatment for asthma that contains both an inhaled long-acting brochodilator and an inhaled corticosteroid has been shown to be as effective for providing overall asthma control as more than double the dose of inhaled corticosteroid alone. The findings were presented at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians in San Diego, CA (USA).
The inhaled corticosteroid-sparing effect is an important consideration in asthma therapy. According to asthma treatment guidelines issued by the US National Institutes of Health, inhaled corticosteroids are the most effective long-term-control medications available for the treatment of asthma. Although inhaled corticosteroids are generally well-tolerated at recommended doses, asthma treatment guidelines recommend that patients should use the lowest dose necessary for asthma control to help optimize the risk/benefit ratio for individual patients.
The study compared 100 mcg of fluticasone propionate (an inhaled corticosteroid) and 50 mcg of salmeterol (an inhaled long-acting bronchodilator) administered in one device (Advair Diskus) twice daily with fluticasone propionate 250 mcg twice daily. The study involved 558 patients 12 years of age and older who required fluticasone propionate 250 mcg twice daily for asthma control.
Advair Diskus is the first product to effectively treat the two main causes of asthma symptoms, inflammation and bronchoconstriction, in one easy-to-use device, says GlaxoSmithKline (London, UK), the supplier of the device. Advair Diskus, however, does not replace fast-acting inhalers to treat sudden symptoms.
This equivalence study also indicated that even though patients had stable asthma at randomization, there were numerical improvements in pulmonary function, percent of days with no asthma symptoms and need for supplemental albuterol in patients taking Advair Diskus 100/50 BID compared with patients taking FP 250 mcg BID.





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