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Infliximab could curb asthma exacerbations

03/Oct/2006: Infliximab, a drug used in treatment of auto-immune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, is found to reduce exacerbations substantially, in people suffering from moderate asthma, according to a new research in U.K.

The participants of this eight –week study were divided in to two groups – one group consisting of 14 patients who received infliximab and the other group consisting of 18 patients who received placebo (an inactive substance with no therapeutic value that is administered as if it were a therapy.

Patients who are administered with placebos may experience positive or negative clinical effects).All participants of this study continued to use synthetic glucocorticoids (corticosteroid) for their asthma.

The study found that participants who received infliximab experienced fewer asthma exacerbations, when compared to those who were administered only placebos. The study also found that infliximab treatment did not have any side effects on the patients.

Infliximab negates the effects of active tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF- alpha) in the body, by binding to it. TNF-alpha is one of the main cytokines, which triggers and sustains inflammations in the body.

Dr. Trevor T. Hansel of the National Heart and Lung Institute at Royal Brompton Hospital in London said that this new therapy should be tried out in larger clinical trials, on more number of patients with severe asthma, as it has proved to be effective in reducing asthma exacerbations and at the same time seems to have no side-effects. The findings of this study were published in the October’s issue of the ‘American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine’.

K Siva

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