Asthma

Officials with the FDA have approved benralizumab (Fasenra, AstraZeneca) for the add-on maintenance treatment of patients with severe eosinophilic asthma aged 12 years and older.

Nucala is an interleukin-5 antagonist under consideration as an add-on maintenance therapy for certain patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

High-dose omega-3 fatty acids during the third trimester of pregnancy could prevent respiratory problems.

Dupilumab is a monoclonal antibody previously approved to treat moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.

Many children with HIV who are diagnosed with asthma may actually have chronic obstructive lung disease.

Pharmacists are in a prime position to offer guidance to those who have this often under-treated chronic disease.

Trial to analyze which commonly prescribed therapies can reduce exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Only 38% of parents are very confident that school staff can help a student with a suspected mental health problem.

Oral vitamin D supplementation, in addition to asthma medications, could reduce the risk of asthma attacks requiring hospital attendance by 50%, according to a recently-published study in The Lancet of Respiratory Medicine.

Several drugs are in the pipeline for the treatment of specialty conditions, including cancer and multiple sclerosis.

People with work-related asthma are particularly vulnerable to pneumococcal pneumonia.

Exercise and a high-protein, low-glycemic diet could improve asthma symptoms by 50%.

Concerns persist that excess folic acid supplementation may cause asthma in young children.

Recently, experimental animal interventions have suggested that folic acid intake that exceeds the recommended dose may increase risk of respiratory disease in offspring.

A look at the top stories in pharmacy last week.

Supplementation of vitamin D cut the risk of serious asthma attacks that require a visit to the hospital or emergency department in half in a recent study.

Exposing infants to high indoor levels of certain allergens may have a preventive effect on the development of asthma

Early life exposure to pet or pest allergens may reduce the likelihood of asthma development in young children, according to a recently-published study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.1

Children with asthma twice as likely to receive antibiotics.

Fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (Trelegy Ellipta) is a single-inhaler triple therapy for the long-term, maintenance treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Lower respiratory tract infections were associated with worse outcomes.

Children with asthma were approximately 1.6 times more likely to be prescribed antibiotics, compared to children who do not have asthma.

The researchers noted that although the study does not prove that asthma caused the reduced fertility, they said the correlation may suggest better asthma control may facilitate efforts to become pregnant.