NEW ASTHMA DRUGS CAN HELP PREVENT SYMPTOMS.

Byline: Damaris Christensen Medical Tribune News Service

Regular use of one of the first of a new class of asthma drugs can help prevent symptoms in people with mild to moderate asthma, according to a new study.

Of 146 asthmatics who used inhalers as needed, those who also took zafirlukast (sold as Accolate) daily for 13 weeks had 90 percent more days without asthma symptoms and 98 percent more days without episodes of asthma that disturbed their sleep or limited their activity than those who took placebo instead of zafirlukast.

Zafirlukast also reduced both the number of doctor visits and the number of days a person was absent from work or school by 55 percent, Samy Suissa, an epidemiologist at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, reported in the February issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

While all of the patients used beta-agonist inhalers - drugs that widen a person's airways and make it easier to breathe - when needed, the 103 patients who received zafirlukast were less likely to use their inhalers.

``The article is important because it is the first clinical trial of a totally new class of drugs,'' said Dr. Michael Schatz, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine and chair of the public education committee for the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology.

Zafirlukast, a member of a class of drugs known as leukotriene receptor antagonists, recently was approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Unlike most asthma drugs, which act to reduce inflammation, zafirlukast helps prevent the cascade of events in the lungs that cause swelling.

``It's always nice to find a new medication that works, and this seems to work pretty well,'' Schatz said. ``But the issue of its overall impact on treating asthma gets back to two questions: How does it compare to other asthma drugs on the market? Are there people out there who don't respond to other drugs but do respond to zafirlukast?''

Until the answers to those questions are known, he said, doctors won't know whether zafirlukast is more appropriate for patients than other asthma drugs.

More than 12 million Americans have asthma. Symptoms often are debilitating and can include coughing, wheezing, a feeling of pressure in the chest and, often, an inability to breathe.