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| |  Desloratadine May Have Early Effect on Nasal Congestion, Other Symptoms of Persistent Allergic Rhinitis: Presented at ACAAI By Sandra Ripley Distelhorst SEATTLE, Wash -- November 13, 2008 -- Desloratadine is an effective treatment for nasal congestion and other symptoms of persistent allergic rhinitis throughout 12 weeks of treatment, according to research presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) annual conference. Nasal congestion is a prominent symptom of allergic rhinitis and, as one of the most bothersome symptoms, is often a factor that drives individuals to seek medical care for this condition, researchers noted in a poster presentation here on November 9. A new study, the AERIUS Control: Clinical and Epidemiological Profile of Tablets 2 (ACCEPT2), examined the effectiveness of desloratadine as a treatment for nasal congestion in persistent allergic rhinitis. Desloratadine has been shown to significantly reduce nasal congestion and other individual allergic-rhinitis symptoms in intermittent and seasonal allergic rhinitis, but has not been studied in persistent allergic rhinitis (>4 days/week and >4 consecutive weeks per year). ACCEPT2 is a prospective, randomised, multicentre, multinational, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study that included 716 patients who were aged 12 years or older and who had at least a 2-year history of persistent allergic rhinitis and at least 1 positive skin-prick test to a relevant allergen. Subjects were randomised to receive desloratadine 5 mg (n = 360) or placebo (n = 356) once daily for 12 weeks. Individual symptom scores included nasal congestion, sneezing, rhinorrhoea, nasal pruritus, and ocular pruritus, and were rated by patients twice daily on a 4-point scale (0 = none to 3 = severe). Investigator Claus Bachert, MD, Upper Airway Research Laboratory, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium and colleagues found that nasal congestion was significantly decreased from baseline with desloratadine compared with placebo as early as the first postdosing timepoint of day 1 (-0.35 vs -0.23, P < .043) and was maintained during the treatment period of days 1 to 29 (-0.69 vs -0.53, P = .002) and days 1 to 85 (-0.87 vs -0.70, P <= .012). Symptom improvement was also reported for days 1 to 15, days 1 to 29, and days 1 to 85 (all P <= .02). Effects of desloratadine on eye itching and rhinorrhoea were seen as soon as day 1, decreases in sneezing were seen by day 2, and decreases in nasal itching were seen by day 3 (P <= .042). Desloratadine was well tolerated. Adverse events were similar for both groups. No clinically meaningful changes in echocardiogram/laboratory parameters occurred during the study period. ACCEPT2 was performed in collaboration with the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network, a research network on allergic diseases funded by the European Union. Funding for this study was provided by Schering-Plough Corporation. [Presentation title: DL (Desloratadine) Treatment Has an Early and Enduring Effect on Nasal Congestion and Other Symptoms in Subjects With Persistent Allergic Rhinitis (PER): ACCEPT-2 Study in Collaboration With GA2LEN. Abstract 356]
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