A new study suggests that the earlier an Asthma sufferer begins inhaled steroid therapy, the better their results in the long term, at least in mild cases.
Attacks of breathlessness and wheezing occur in asthma sufferers when the airways become inflamed. Those whose symptoms are mild and persistent seek relief by inhaling corticosteroids which reduce the
Inflammation, thus easing the symptoms.
This new study reports that asthma sufferers who started using Budesonide (aka Pulmicort) when first diagnosed had better control over a five year period. The results were the same whether the inhalant was used by adults or children.
This study was led by Dr. William W. Busse of the University of Wisconsin Medical School and funded by AstraZeneca, the Sweden based company which produces Pulmicort.
The study found that the patients who started using Pulmicort early in their condition had less severe asthma attacks and used less asthma medications in general. Included in the study were 7,241 patients ranging in age from 5 to 66. Each of them had been diagnosed recently with a mild and persistent case of asthma. For three years half of the participants took a daily dose of the inhaled steroid along with the “usual therapy” of fast acting asthma attack relief medicine, while the other half used just their usual therapy alone
Those studies concluded that those in the first group who started Pulmicort therapy at the beginning had significantly fewer and less severe symptoms, as well as less need for additional asthma medications.
Researchers agreed that the results are in line with the usage guidelines for inhaled steroid therapy among children and adults who suffer from mild persistent asthma, and added that this may lead to a reduced amount of medications needed by asthmatic patients to manage their symptoms in the long run.
