New Approach for Severe Asthma
Reported September 19, 2005

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Blocking a powerful immune system chemical present in patients with severe asthma improves symptoms and lung function, according to a recent study.

Nearly one in every 10 patients with asthma has severe asthma. With the need for progressively higher doses of steroids to control symptoms, the severe form accounts for almost one third of all health service costs for the condition. During the study, investigators examined 26 healthy people, 67 people with mild asthma, and 51 people with severe asthma for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha). This chemical is also found in a range of chronic inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and psoriasis.

Researchers studied each participant's bronchial fluid and lung tissue samples for their levels of TNF alpha. TNF alpha samples were low in patients with no or mild asthma. Study authors suggest the high level of TNF alpha in the severe form of the disease is characteristic of chronic diseases resistant to steroid treatment, rather than the disease itself.

Seventeen of the people with severe asthma symptoms, despite being treated with a range of drugs, were given 25 milligrams of the drug etanercept (Enbrel) that blocks TNF alpha production. The drug was injected below the skin twice weekly for 12 weeks.

At the conclusion of the study, the patients with severe asthma experienced considerable improvement in symptoms and lung function. Two patients were able to discontinue use one of their drugs. With few side effects, the drug also curbed the inflammatory reaction in the lungs, known as bronchial hyper responsiveness.