United States: In a major breakthrough, scientists have developed the first new treatment for asthma attacks in fifty years.
This innovative injection targets and suppresses an overactive part of the immune system, which can trigger flare-ups in both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
More about the news
Benralizumab is currently only applied to the most severe cases, but the new study shows that it is applicable to approximately two million attacks per year in the UK.
The team of experts from King’s College London stated that the drug was a “game-changer” that had the potential to “revolutionize” care.
The findings come from an understanding that not all asthma and COPD attacks are the same.
As per Prof Mona Bafadhel, from King’s, “Now we can see there are different patterns of inflammation, we can be smarter and get the right treatment, to the right patient, at the right time,” BBC News reported.
In contrast, various components of the immune system are reactive in various patients, but the reaction is excessive.
Benralizumab works by binding to a specific kind of white blood cell called eosinophils and then marking them for destruction in the lungs.
Eosinophils are involved in approximately 50 percent of asthma exacerbations and 33 percent of COPD exacerbations.
If such an attack – which is characterized by breathing difficulty, wheezing, coughing, and chest discomfort – cannot be brought under control by conventional inhalers, doctors today then put patients on steroids.
About the study
The clinical study involved 158 patients and followed up patients for three months after their treatment for a flare-up, BBC reported.
The results in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine found a treatment failure rate of:
- 74% when taking steroids
- and 45% with the new therapy
In patients who received the new therapy, there were fewer hospitalizations, second rounds of treatment, or mortality.
Prof Bafadhel said this could help a massive population given that these two million attacks per year “is not a small number.”
Furthermore, “This is a game-changer; we’ve not had a change in treatment for 50 years – it will revolutionize how we treat people when they’re really unwell,” as Prof Bafadhel mentioned.
Volunteers also noted that their symptoms and general health status increased with the new drug, and their quality of life was enhanced.