Hormone effects unlikely with asthma drug

	Tweet

The inhaled drug fluticasone propionate is unlike to cause major hormone disturbances in patients with severe asthma, according to a report in the Annals of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.

Previous reports have yielded conflicting results regarding whether fluticasone, an inhaled steroid drug, can disrupt steroid hormones in the body.

In the current study, 10 patients with severe asthma and 10 healthy comparison subjects were treated with fluticasone for 2 weeks. During that time, levels of an important steroid hormone called cortisol were measured.

According to Dr. Daniel K. C. Lee and colleagues, from Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, Scotland, fluticasone had no major effect on cortisol levels. In contrast, in healthy subjects, use of the drug did reduce hormone production.

“It is reassuring to know that patients with severe asthma” do not experience hormone disturbances when using fluticasone, the investigators write.

Nonetheless, they say, “vigilance is required because there may be susceptible patients who might be particularly sensitive” to fluticasone and similar drugs.

SOURCE: Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, September 2004.

RELATED STORIES:
Antibiotics May Be Linked to Allergies, Asthma   Severe asthma treatment: need for characterising patients   Asthma attack halts Fordham   Children with asthma have more emotional problems   Exercise Raises Quality of Life in Asthma   A Novel Gene Found for Childhood-Onset Asthma   Increased risk of developing asthma by age of 3 after caesarean   Study Links Children’s Asthma To Hog Farms   Breastfeeding and lung function at school age: Does maternal asthma modify the effect?   Alternative therapies may leave asthmatics gasping   Metal and plastic inhalers equal for asthma in kids   ED intervention helps increase asthma education

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]