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| |  DG DISPATCH - BTS: New Ventilation/Cleaning System Effective In Reducing Dust Mites By Mark Pownall Special to DG News LONDON, U.K. -- December 13, 1999 -- An aggressive effort to reduce levels of house dust mites and house dust allergens can have the same effect as a 400 microgram dose of inhaled steroids in improving asthma symptoms over a year, according to a new study.
The study, presented at the British Thoracic Society winter meeting in London today (December 13) found that a new eradication technique combining dry and moist heat with a special ventilation system, can eradicate virtually all house dust mites (and mite allergens). Mites and mite allergens have long been identified as a key trigger to asthma attacks but long term eradication has proved to be difficult to achieve. The new home system described in the trial could provide an alternative to medication for some allergy sufferers, including those with asthma rhinitis and eczema, according to researchers from the University of Sheffield, England. The researchers carried out a one-year, double-blind controlled trial of 30 adult asthmatics homes in Sheffield where all soft furnishings, including mattresses, were treated with moistened air. Levels of house dust mites were measured four times within four months and showed a significant reduction at the end of the trial. The researchers also looked at peak flow measurements and tests for bronchial hyper-responsiveness at five intervals over the same period. They found corresponding improvements equivalent to that of a patient taking a 400 microgram dose of inhaled corticosteroids. Professor Tim Higenbottam, lead researcher on the Sheffield study said: "The technique combines two types of treatment so you knock out the mites and the vast majority of the allergens caused by the mites. The study shows that it is possible to convert a mite ridden home in a city suburb to conditions more readily found in homes in the Swiss Alps. "This one off treatment is relatively inexpensive at around UK pounds 400 (about US dollars 650) per year. That is the equivalent to the supply of a patient's inhalers for a year." Elsewhere at the meeting, researchers identified enzymes used in soap powder as a cause of asthma. A new study found that several workers at a detergent factory complained of wheeze symptoms while at work which improved when they were away from the factory. The problems happened even though the enzymes were covered in a capsule coat, a technique which is supposed to prevent direct allergy-provoking contact.
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