Asthma inhaler drug may counteract benefits

[Guest guest]

Friday, March 26, 2004 Posted: 9:51 AM EST (1451 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- One of the drugs used in inhalers to treat

asthma can counteract the benefits of the others, U.S. researchers

reported on Tuesday

The finding may explain why some patients who use the inhalers

actually get worse over time, the researchers at the University of

Pittsburgh School of Medicine said.

The ingredient is albuterol, in a class of medications called beta-

agonists. In inhalers it is combined with steroids to open airways

and ease the gasping of patients with asthma and other lung diseases.

But in a report presented to the annual meeting of the American

Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in San Francisco, the

researchers said a bad form of albuterol can accumulate in the body

and worsen symptoms instead of helping.

Sometimes these patients end up in emergency rooms, said Bill

Ameredes, an assistant professor of cell biology and physiology who

led the study.

The trouble, said Ameredes, is that albuterol has two forms or

isomers -- a so-called left-handed version and a right-handed one.

These isomers refer to the molecular structure.

The " right " version relaxed the airways when used with the steroid

dexamethasone but the " left " version in fact increased the

inflammatory signals that caused the airways to tighten, he said.

" One potential explanation is that long-term repeated usage of

albuterol may result in accumulation of the (left) isomer of

albuterol, which we know persists in the body three to four times

longer than the beneficial (right) isomer, which is normally

metabolized in about three hours, " Ameredes said in a statement.

It is now possible to make a version of albuterol that contains only

the beneficial, right-handed isomer, Ameredes said, and drug

companies should examine this possibility.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/conditions/03/23/inhalers.reut/index.ht

ml

[Guest guest]

Exactly what happened to my spouse KC ! Ruth got

worse each time she used Albuterol !!

She now avoids the ER like one avoids a plague !

And Alberterol is on her "hit" list to avoid always!

Bryce

On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 15:58:02 -0000 "tigerpaw2c" <tigerpaw2C@...> writes:

Friday, March 26, 2004 Posted: 9:51 AM EST (1451 GMT) WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- One of the drugs used in inhalers to treat asthma can counteract the benefits of the others, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday The finding may explain why some patients who use the inhalers actually get worse over time, the researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine said.The ingredient is albuterol, in a class of medications called beta-agonists. In inhalers it is combined with steroids to open airways and ease the gasping of patients with asthma and other lung diseases.But in a report presented to the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in San Francisco, the researchers said a bad form of albuterol can accumulate in the body and worsen symptoms instead of helping.Sometimes these patients end up in emergency rooms, said Bill Ameredes, an assistant professor of cell biology and physiology who led the study.The trouble, said Ameredes, is that albuterol has two forms or isomers -- a so-called left-handed version and a right-handed one. These isomers refer to the molecular structure.The "right" version relaxed the airways when used with the steroid dexamethasone but the "left" version in fact increased the inflammatory signals that caused the airways to tighten, he said."One potential explanation is that long-term repeated usage of albuterol may result in accumulation of the (left) isomer of albuterol, which we know persists in the body three to four times longer than the beneficial (right) isomer, which is normally metabolized in about three hours," Ameredes said in a statement.It is now possible to make a version of albuterol that contains only the beneficial, right-handed isomer, Ameredes said, and drug companies should examine this possibility.http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/conditions/03/23/inhalers.reut/index.htmlFAIR USE NOTICE:This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.