The clinical trial of the first new treatment in 50 years for the treatment of acute asthma attacks has yielded particularly positive results.
Researchers at King's College London have found that the active ingredient benralizumab is much more effective than steroid pills for treating very severe breathing difficulties in patients with severe asthma.
It is a monoclonal antibody that targets white blood cells that can enter the lungs of patients suffering from what is called eosinophilic asthma, causing them to swell and block the airways.
This type of asthma accounts for half of all episodes requiring emergency medical care.
The researchers found that patients given an injection of benralizumab during a respiratory episode were less likely to suffer from breathing difficulties four weeks later.
They also recorded through clinical trials a remarkable improvement in the quality of life of asthma patients.
The research is published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
King's College team leader Mona Buffantel commented that the findings could be a game-changer for patients with severe asthma as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a disease that shares the same characteristics as eosinophilic asthma.
Source: KYPE
