(RTTNews) - Researchers at King's College London have found a new treatment for asthma attacks, which could be a "game-changer" for the patients.
Lead investigator Prof Mona Bafadhel, of King's College London, said, "This could be a gamechanger for people with asthma and COPD. Treatment for asthma and COPD exacerbations have not changed in 50 years, despite causing 3.8m deaths worldwide a year combined."
The study, published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal, revealed that taking Benralizumab at a higher single dose could be very effective, instead of taking it in low doses to treat severe asthma.
Bafadhel explained, "Benralizumab is a safe and effective drug already used to manage severe asthma. We've used the drug in a different way - at the point of an exacerbation - to show that it's more effective than steroid tablets, which is the only treatment currently available."
Benralizumab, marketed by Astrazeneca (AZN), targets a specific type of white blood cells, called eosinophils, which is responsible for inflammation and damage in the lungs.
The study involved 158 people who needed treatment for their asthma or COPD attack. They were given a quick blood test to see what type of attack they were having.
The participants were divided into three groups - first one received the benralizumab injection and dummy tablets, second group received standard care of prednisolone steroids, 30mg daily for five days, and a dummy injection, and the third group received the benralizumab injection and steroids.
People treated with the benralizumab were less likely to be admitted to hospital, need another round of treatment or die. They also reported an improvement in the quality of life.
"This is a game-changer, we've not had a change in treatment for 50 years - it will revolutionize how we treat people when they're really unwell," Prof Bafadhel concluded.
First author Dr Sanjay Ramakrishnan, added, "COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide but treatment for the condition is stuck in the 20th century. We need to provide these patients with life-saving options before their time runs out."
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