asthma control

(NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute) Adding the acid reflux drug lansoprazole to a standard inhaled steroid treatment for asthma does not improve asthma control in children who have no symptom of acid reflux, according to a new study funded in part by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Lansoprazole therapy slightly increased the risk of sore throats and other respiratory problems in children, however

(MedPage Today) -- Asthma patients with poorly controlled symptoms on inhaled steroids had significant improvement in lung function during 12 weeks of treatment with an investigational interleukin-13 inhibitor, investigators reported.

(MedPage Today) -- Adding the long-acting anticholinergic tiotropium (Spiriva) to a low-dose inhaled glucocorticoid resulted in better asthma control than doubling the dose of the glucocorticoid, a double-blind, three-way trial found.

NEW ORLEANS (MedPage Today) -- Patients with moderate to severe asthma had symptomatic improvement for up to five years after treatment with a devices that uses radiofrequency energy to reduce airway smooth muscle mass, according to results reported here.

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- Having health insurance and a "medical home" does not necessarily predict good asthma control among children in low-income neighborhoods, researchers said here.

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- Statin therapy may or may not help improve adult asthma control, according to two database studies.

ROTTERDAM (MedPage Today) -- Asthmatic children do not benefit from daily monitoring of exhaled nitric oxide, investigators here reported.

SEATTLE (MedPage Today) -- Asthma control in children living near major highways in Los Angeles was substantially poorer than in other patients, said a researcher here.