Doctors praise first breakthrough in treating asthma and COPD in 50 years – Irish Times

Doctors have hailed a new way to treat severe asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) attacks, marking the first breakthrough in 50 years and “transformative” for patients. There is a possibility.

One trial found that offering patients an injection was more effective than current treatment with steroid tablets, reducing the need for further treatment by 30%.

The findings, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal, could be transformative for millions of people with asthma and COPD around the world.

Benralizumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets specific white blood cells called eosinophils, reducing inflammation in the lungs. It has been used in low doses as a repeated treatment for severe asthma, but clinical trials have found that increasing single doses can be highly effective when injected during flare-ups.

Lead researcher Professor Mona Buffadel from King's College London said: “This could be a game-changer for people with asthma and COPD.” The treatment of asthma and COPD exacerbations has remained unchanged for 50 years, despite the fact that they cause a combined 3.8 million deaths worldwide each year.

“Benralizumab is a safe and effective drug that is already used in the management of severe asthma. We used this drug to show that it is more effective than steroid tablets, the only treatment currently available. , I used this drug in a different way at the time of the exacerbation.”

The study involved 158 people who required hospitalization for an asthma or COPD attack.

Patients were given a simple blood test to find out what type of attack they were having and were told that those suffering from an “eosinophilic exacerbation” were suitable for treatment.

Scientists say that about 50% of asthma attacks are eosinophilic exacerbations, as are 30% of COPD attacks.

[ ‘I don’t think asthma is taken as seriously as it should be’Opens in new window ]

The trial was led by King's and conducted at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, with patients randomly divided into three groups.

One group received a benralizumab injection and a dummy pill. Another group received standard treatment of prednisolone steroids, 30 mg daily for five days, and dummy injections. The third group received benralizumab injections and steroids.

After 28 days, patients taking benralizumab were found to have improved respiratory symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and sputum production. After 90 days, the number of people failing treatment was four times lower in the benralizumab group than in the steroid group.

Treatment with benralizumab injections also took longer to fail and patients made fewer visits to their GP or hospital, the researchers said. People also reported that their quality of life improved under the new system.

[ COPD: ‘Giving up cigarettes was the best day’s work I ever did’Opens in new window ]

Scientists said steroids can have serious side effects, such as increased risk of diabetes and osteoporosis, and switching to benralizumab could offer significant benefits.

Benralizumab could be safely administered not only in hospital emergency departments, but also at home or in a GP's office, the researchers said. AstraZeneca provided the drug and funded the study, but was not involved in the design, conduct, analysis or interpretation of the trial.

Lead author Dr Sanjay Ramakrishnan, Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Western Australia, said:

“COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide, but treatment for this disease is stuck in the 20th century. We need to offer these patients lifesaving options before time runs out. ”

Dr Samantha Walker, director of research and innovation at the UK Asthma and Lung Research Institute, welcomed the findings, but said: “It's scary that this is the first new treatment for people suffering from asthma and COPD attacks in 50 years. “This shows how desperately underfunded lung health is.” Research does. ” – Guardian