If this is not your name, click here.
| | If this is not your name, click here. | | |
| | Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague | | |
| |  New Class of Asthma Medication Now Available WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 1996 -- A new class of asthma medications, called leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs), is now available in pharmacies nationwide. The first new class of asthma medications to be introduced in the U.S. in more than 20 years, LTRAs offer asthma sufferers a new treatment option to help control their disease. "Despite the availability of effective anti-asthma medications, managing asthma is a daily challenge, since the symptoms of this disease are recurring," said Mary Worstell, Executive Director of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). "LTRAs offer people with asthma a new option for preventative therapy. It is hoped that they are the first of what we hope will be many nonsteroid medications to treat the underlying inflammation of asthma." More than 100 million people worldwide suffer from this chronic lung disease, including more than 12 million Americans. Asthma accounts for nearly 32 million physician office visits each year and almost one percent of all healthcare expenses in the United States. In recent years, asthma prevalence and deaths have been on the rise. Until recently, most asthma treatments focused on relaxing the squeeze of bronchial muscles to ease symptoms. In the last decade, researchers have begun to understand how asthma symptoms are caused by the immune system at the cellular level. A chain reaction starts when a trigger, such as cat hair or dust, starts a series of chemical reactions in the body, which produces several substances, including a family of molecules known as leukotrienes. In people with asthma, leukotrienes play a key role in causing the inflammation, bronchoconstriction, and mucus production that lead to coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. LTRAs prevent leukotrienes from attaching to the proinflammatory receptors on circulating and lung cells, which contribute to asthma symptoms. Leukotriene research is the direct result of a Nobel Prize-winning discovery made by scientist Beng Samuelsson in 1979. In September of this year, ACCOLATE(R) (zafirlukast), the first leukotriene receptor antagonist, was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration as a prescription drug for the preventative and chronic treatment of asthma in adults and children ages 12 and older. ACCOLATE is not a rescue medication and should not be used to treat acute asthma. "We welcome effective, new alternatives for asthma patients to assist them in controlling their asthma," said Worstell. "There is currently no cure, but each asthma episode can be controlled." AAFA advises that it is very important for those with asthma to work with their physicians or other healthcare providers in developing and following an asthma management plan. Each patient's plan should: identify the specific causes or "triggers," such as animal dander or pollen, of an individual's asthma attacks; offer clear instructions on what medications to take and when to take them; indicate the early warning signs of worsening attacks; and outline emergency procedures. AAFA is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for and controlling asthma and allergic diseases. AAFA serves the estimated 50 million Americans with asthma and allergic diseases through the support of research, patient and public education programs, public and governmental advocacy, and a nationwide network of chapters and support groups.
|
