Children with asthma may be using medicines that do not work and in some cases this could increase their suffering, according to a study.

The inhaler, which is often the first line of treatment in asthma, could be less effective or may even make the condition worse for some children carrying a particular gene change, research at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) has shown.

The researchers' concerns follow the publication of the first national study of asthma deaths in the UK, which claimed some asthma patients are dying because of complacency among both medical staff and patients.

BSMS experts are planning new trials this autumn which they believe will provide further evidence to support the idea of providing personalised medicine to improve treatment.

Professor Somnath Mukhopadhyay, chairman of Paediatrics at BSMS who is heading the research, said: "Both asthma 'reliever' and 'controller' medicines may not work well in a proportion of children because the child's genetic make-up makes the medicine less effective.

"A simple test can determine whether a child carries the gene change and identify those who might benefit from a switch to an alternative, more effective medicine."

Prof Mukhopadhyay said parents and health professionals should be made more aware of the possible risks to children who carry the gene change.

The research has been funded by the charity Haydn's Wish, named after nine-year-old asthma sufferer Haydn Wileman, from Newhaven, East Sussex, who died in 2011 after an allergic reaction.

The charity, which supports the BSMS research, said the audit showed many parents of children with asthma felt the blue inhaler did not work well.

Haydn's mother Emma Wileman, who leads the charity, said: "Some children with asthma appear to be suffering more because they are not responding to 'reliever' medicine.

Go here to read the rest:
Children's asthma medicine warning

Comments are closed.