Patients with asthma may be able to take pills rather than inhalers because of the effectiveness of new drugs, researchers said last night.
Leukotriene receptor antagonists are taken as tablets. They hold back immune system compounds that cause inflammation and constrict airways. They include montelukast, zafirlukast and zileuton.
So far they have been considered less effective than inhaled corticosteroids such as beclometasone. Guidelines only recommend them if inhalers do not work.
But now, Professor David Price of the University of East Anglia, UK, and colleagues say that the tablets are easier to use and work just as well as corticosteroid inhalers. Their study appears in the New England Journal of Medicine. It involved 650 asthma patients.
The tablets managed the disease equally successfully as steroid inhalers, and could be useful for the majority of patients, say the researchers. Some patients have a problem using inhalers or cannot tolerate the side-effects.
Professor Price said: "We hope these findings will increase the options for health care professionals when prescribing for this common but disruptive disease." He also found that patients are up to 60 per cent more likely to stick to their treatment when given a daily tablet.
Researcher Dr Stanley Musgrave added that the tablets can help improve patients’ quality of life.
The experts say that asthma is on the rise, with about 300 million sufferers around the world. World Asthma Day 2011 was held on Tuesday (May 3), with the aim of boosting the quality of care for asthma patients.
Price, D. et al. Leukotriene antagonists as a first-line or add-on asthma controller therapy. The New England Journal of Medicine, published online May 5, 2011.
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