An observational study of more than 64,000 asthma patients demonstrated that patients receiving treatment with Advair Diskus (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder) had a significant risk reduction in emergency department visits due to asthma versus patients treated with fluticasone propionate (FP) alone.
A survey of more than 1,300 asthma patients found that the majority of respondents (61 percent) had uncontrolled asthma based on their Asthma Control Test (ACT) score, and nearly one-third (29 percent) of those were not aware that their asthma was uncontrolled. Uncontrolled asthma may place patients at risk for increased symptoms, sudden attacks, hospitalization and even death from asthma.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) today welcomes new guidelines for Asthma Management and Prevention released today from The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). The guidelines emphasise that the overall aim of asthma treatment is to achieve and maintain long-term control of the disease and introduce a new classification of asthma based on levels of control1. Recommended treatment action is then based on the patient?s level of control.
Although children born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy are known to be at increased risk of developing asthma, ?few studies have investigated the role of active cigarette smoking on asthma onset during adolescence?, the researchers explain in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
The latest medical and clinical research on treatment and diagnosis of asthma will be made available free of charge to doctors, pharmacists and other professionals who deal with asthma patients, via a new handbook.
In two studies presented during the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), held in Philadelphia November 9-15, caregivers considered the ?seal of approval? from the FDA to be the most important factor when looking for an effective asthma treatment for their child. Caregivers and physicians also expressed in the study the need for a standardized assessment tool that could help diagnose and monitor asthma.
Newly presented data indicate that treatment with SYMBICORT? (budesonide/formoterol fumarate dihydrate) inhalation aerosol results in significantly greater improvements in lung function, and a lower risk of asthma worsening episodes, compared to budesonide and/or formoterol used alone. In addition, data also showed that SYMBICORT was generally well-tolerated, with an adverse event profile similar to that of its individual components. These study results, involving patients with mild to moderate persistent asthma, were presented today at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology’s (ACAAI) annual scientific sessions held in Philadelphia on November 9-15, 2006.
Children treated with PULMICORT RESPULES? (budesonide inhalation suspension) either once or twice daily experienced a significantly greater increase in the percentage of asthma-control days compared to those receiving placebo. These results are being presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), held in Philadelphia on November 9-15. Asthma-control days were defined as days when children were free of symptoms and did not use rescue medications during the day and night. Control of asthma symptoms during the day and night and reduction of the need for rescue medication is an important goal of asthma therapy in keeping with current National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) guidelines.
Patients with asthma who believe they have control of their condition are likely to report improved asthma-related health status and have a decreased risk of severe asthma attacks.
Results of a Portuguese study suggest that, contrary to expectations, obesity is not associated with an increased risk of asthma.