Asthma is a debilitating condition which causes the airways of sufferers to swell, affecting their respiratory wellness and causing them a variety of symptoms including wheezing, breathlessness, loss of consciousness and much more. In severe cases, it can even lead to death.
Two new trials now claim that in the case of adults who do not have well-controlled asthma, a single inhaler containing a mixture of two different types of drugs, may be the best treatment.
This system is known as ‘Single inhaler Maintenance and Reliever Therapy’ (SMART) and works in both a preventative and a rescue sense, so can be used to avoid an attack or to get rid of an attack when it strikes.
Asthma UK, a leading asthma charity in the United Kingdom, has welcomed the news, stating that this single-inhaler approach is already available in the UK (for over 18s) and has been for many years. The treatment, however, is not yet available in the United States, as it is yet to be approved.
Many asthma sufferers struggle to keep good control of the associated symptoms, and in the cases of these people, they are usually prescribed a corticosteroid, to be inhaled in order to prevent attacks, plus a long-acting beta2 agonist if the steroid is not enough on its own. Then, all patients are advised to have a second inhaler, known as a ‘reliever’ to help ward off the symptoms of an attack when they strike.
In contrast to this, the new SMART system uses just one inhaler which contains a steroid as well as a LABA bronchodilator, and works in a preventative and rescue sense at the same time.
In practical terms, this move would mean that asthmatics only had to carry one inhaler with them at all times and would use it in any situation.