No NO Gadget For Asthma

NO (nitric oxide) is a measurable marker of asthma-related inflammation. As well, it has been shown that the higher the level of NO in the breath, the greater the inflammation present in the lungs. So, Dr. Stanley Szefler, M.D., of National Jewish Health in Denver, in conjunction with Dr. William Busse, M.D., of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, hypothesized that the measurement of exhaled NO, in addition to the NIH asthma guidelines-based approach, would improve asthma control over the guidelines-based approach alone. If this hypothesis could be proven, then NO measuring gadgets could become a new tool to help guide treatment.
Published in the September 20th edition of The Lancet, this largest study to date testing exhaled nitric oxide as a biomarker for asthma management failed to show that the group whose treatment was guided by exhaled NO did not end up with fewer or less severe asthma symptoms or fewer asthma exacerbations as compared with the group that received treatment based on the NAEPP (National Asthma Education and Prevention Program) guidelines alone.
Bad news, no new gadgets to help guide asthma treatment but the good news according to the study authors, is that “good adherence to the current guidelines [for treating asthma patients] can mean good disease management without the need for a biomarker.”
NIH press release: Monitoring Exhaled Nitric Oxide Does Not Help Manage Asthma…
Abstract: Management of asthma based on exhaled nitric oxide in addition to guideline-based treatment for inner-city adolescents and young adults: a randomised controlled trial The Lancet 2008; 372:1065-1072
Image credit: Wellcome images: Asthma; child using a ‘reliever’ (bronchodilator) inhaler (Rotahaler)….