Scientists Make First Asthma Attack Breakthrough in 50 Years

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Facts

  • Researchers at King's College London have reportedly found a new way, a first in 50 years, to treat asthma attacks and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) flare-ups more effectively than steroid tablets, which they claim could be a "game-changer" for millions of patients.[1][2]
  • The current asthma treatment protocol involves consuming steroid tablets. The potential breakthrough offers patients an injection of the antibody benralizumab, which targets specific white blood cells called eosinophils, to reduce lung inflammation.[3][4]
  • The researchers say that Benralizumab reduces the need for further treatment of serious asthma and COPD attacks by nearly 30%. It's already used to manage severe asthma, but the new treatment involves its administration at the moment of a flare-up.[5][6]
  • Benralizumab is a man-made clone of an antibody produced by the immune system. Traditional use of steroids like prednisolone — while not always preventing repeat attacks — often involves risks like osteoporosis and diabetes.[7][8]
  • Prof. Mona Bafadhel, the lead investigator of the research, has said that the benralizumab treatment could be available to asthmatics within five years. The findings were published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal.[9][10]
  • A larger, two-year trial of the new treatment will begin in 2025. AstraZeneca provided the drug for the study and funded it. Asthma and COPD together cause 3.8M deaths worldwide every year.[2][5]

Sources: [1]Sky News, [2]BBC News, [3]Independent, [4]Medicalxpress, [5]Daily Mail, [6]The Mirror, [7]The Standard, [8]Drug Discovery from Technology Networks, [9]The National and [10]The Guardian

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by The Guardian. Asthma patients finally have a groundbreaking lifeline: a treatment that outperforms the traditional one and reduces the need for further treatment by 30%. With fewer side effects than steroids, it offers improved symptoms, reduced hospital visits, and better quality of life. This innovation is a long-awaited one and provides transformative hope for millions.
  • Narrative B, as provided by The Pharmaceutical Journal. Most asthma deaths are preventable. Despite clear recommendations, primary asthma care remains elusive to a large section of patients due to overstretched healthcare systems. This intolerable delay in implementing life-saving measures highlights a glaring failure to prioritize asthma care, leaving millions at risk and demanding urgent government action.