omalizumab for asthma a new old hope?
About 5 million people in the UK are currently being treated for asthma.
Of these, a quarter of a million are unable to properly control their
condition, resulting in frequent, severe and life-threatening seizures. A new
study on the drug Omalizumab (Eng. ” Omalizumab “) gives hope to
these patients.
This drug is an approved therapy for people not responding to steroid
treatment. Scientists are trying to determine which biomarkers change during
treatment. This will enable rapid identification of those patients who benefit
the most from Omalizumab treatment .
Comment: Omalizumab is a drug that binds IgE antibodies . It is assumed that a decrease in the amount of antibodies in the body of an asthmatic will reduce the chain of antibody -binding reactions and the release of histamine with the subsequent development of allergic reactions. But the fact is that the excess part of histamine produced in the intestine does not depend on histamine release from mast cells. Therefore, a revolution in the treatment of asthma with the advent of these drugs did not happen. Moreover, omalizumab for asthma and its analogues have been “lit up” among the “panacea” lists for several years now. But the results of its application are very modest, if not doubtful.
Price for asthma treatment
Is the cost of asthma treatment for obese people significantly higher?
Overweight and obese patients have been found to spend more money on asthma treatment than normal-weight people, according to researchers from Singapore who have been studying this issue for 10 years. According to scientists, the average cost of treatment per year for patients with normal body weight is $ 605, and for people with obesity, the price can rise to $ 795. It has also been observed that smokers spend more money on asthma treatment than non-smokers. This study could help reduce patients’ costs by advising them on weight management and smoking cessation.
There is another aspect of this problem: the fact is that many drugs are distributed evenly throughout the body. And the greater the body weight, the lower the concentration of the drug is created in the pathological focus. Therefore, when prescribing treatment, body weight should be taken into account and the dose should be selected taking into account the uniform distribution of the drug. Of course, this rule does not apply to all drugs, but only to systemic drugs.
Commentary: I remember the famous “Quit smoking, get up on skis!” Fortunately, it is still snowing outside the window and you can have time to combine business with pleasure. In addition, a rational diet and weight loss can significantly reduce the cost of asthma treatment.
