Fungus clue to asthma

Tuesday December 30th, 2008

A common medication may help some patients with severe asthma, British researchers reported today.

Many of those with untreatable asthma may be suffering from allergic reactions to fungi, according to the Manchester University researchers.

And a common anti-fungal drug may be effective treatment for these people, according to the study.

Some one per cent of people with asthma are known to suffer from extreme allergy to a fungus - but in addition up to 50 per cent of asthma patients may be sensitive to air-borne fungus, the Manchester researchers believe.

Using skin-prick allergy tests, they identified 58 patients with fungus-sensitivity and tested treatment with a common anti-fungal drug, itraconazole.

Half the patients received the treatment and the other half a placebo. After 32 weeks 18 of the 29 patients receiving itraconazole showed "significant" improvements in their quality of life, according to the research published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Some gave up treatment because of side-effects.

Researcher Professor David Denning said: "Since about 60 per cent of those treated benefited from the treatment, we believe that antifungal therapy may be helpful in as many as 150,000 adults with asthma in the UK."

Fellow researcher Dr Ronan O'Driscoll said: "It's good news for patients with severe asthma to have an existing anti-fungal drug recognised as having benefits for asthma patients with fungal allergy.

"We found that many patients were only picked up by extensive skin and blood test screening for fungal allergy, so a change of clinical practice will be required to identify all the patients who might respond to itraconazole."

Expert Dr John Heffner, a former president of the American Thoracic Society, welcomed the findings.

He said: "This study suggests that colonization with fungal species may generate immunologic responses in patients with asthma that perpetuate airway inflammation and blunt the effectiveness of drug therapy.

"One can't help but wonder if antifungal therapy would benefit all severe asthmatics regardless of sensitivity to fungi."

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine January 2009:179

Tags: Allergies & Asthma | UK News

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