Steroids Blog

As per a latest study conducted by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institutes Asthma Clinical Research Network and Stanley Szefler, M.D., lead author on the paper and Head of Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology at National Jewish Medical and Research Center, it was found that low to medium doses of inhaled steroids can benefit patients suffering from persistent asthma.

Szefler said that individual patients may respond in a different manner than others when administered with inhaled steroids and this is where other therapies may be implemented if low to medium doses of inhaled steroids fail to bring clear benefits for them.

The study clearly indicated that inhaled steroids are usually more than enough to bring improvements in the functioning of the lungs in patients with persistent asthma.

From News.Bio-Medicine.Org:

“Dr. Szefler recommends that doctors whose patients do not respond with low to medium doses of inhaled steroids consider supplementing them with non-steroidal medications, such as long-acting beta agonists and leukotriene modifiers, before prescribing high doses of inhaled steroids. When high doses of steroids are used for several years, they may be associated with an increased risk for adverse effects, such as osteoporosis, cataracts and glaucoma. However, higher doses of inhaled steroids may still be needed to help some patients control their asthma, said Dr. Szefler. He advises doctors to monitor any patients taking high doses to determine whether the benefits outweigh the risk for adverse effects. The new findings indicate that benefits vary widely for individual patients.

The research team studied 30 patients with persistent asthma. The patients received three different doses of an inhaled steroid, each administered for six weeks at a time. The researchers examined two inhaled steroids in this study, fluticasone propionate (FloventTM), and beclomethasone dipropionate (VancerilTM) both in the canister form along with a spacer device. They evaluated benefits primarily by measuring lung function and airway sensitivity. Cortisol levels were measured to gauge the effect of the inhaled steroid on the body’s normal function and the risk for adverse effects.

To the research teams surprise, eight of the 21 patients (38%) who completed all lung function tests showed less than a 5% increase in lung function at any dose, much less than expected. Five (23%) had a 5% to 15% percent increase in lung function, while eight (38%) had more than 15% improvement in lung function. A similar degree of variability in response was shown for the change in measures of airway sensitivity.”

The study also suggested that patients who have been administered with high doses of inhaled steroids need to be monitored so that it could be determined whether the benefits of such high doses outweigh the risks for adverse effects.

This study is regarded as quite important as it was able to highlight considerable variations in responses to the prescribed medications. The study also helped in the initiation of a whole new area of research that seems to have an ability to improve management of asthma.