(RxWiki News) Many parents struggle to get their asthmatic children to properly use their steroid inhalers. Hope has arrived. A groundbreaking new study reports that asthma management may be getting a lot easier.
Asthma pharmeceuticals, known as Leukotriene receptor antaonists (LTRAs), sold under the brand names 'Singulair' (montelukast) and 'Accolate' (zafirlukast), are oral tablet alternatives to steroid inhalers. While they have been on the market for some time, hiistorically they weren't prescribed very often due to perceived inferior effectiveness.
"LTRAs are just as effective as steroid inahlers for asthma prevention."
Lead author Professor David Price of the University of Aberdeen and the University of East Anglia (UEA) hopes that recent findings will increase the options for healthcare professionals when prescribing for asthma. LTRAs managed the disease as successfully as steroid inhalers and other 'preventer' inhalers when used in addition to steroid inhalers.
The researchers found that adherence to treatment was vastly improved by a whopping 60 percent in the group of patients given the once-a-day LTRA tablets.
Additionally, patients did not have to worry about using appropriate inhaler technique.
Co-author Dr Stanley Musgrave of Norwich Medical School at UEA added and concurred with Price: LTRAs are easy to use, help patients control their asthma effectively and improve their quality of life.
The Study
- ELEVATE, the randomized controlled trial examined asthma therapies in a real-world setting
- Followed 650 patients with chronic asthma for two years
