Asthma, Author Interviews, Immunotherapy, Pediatrics / 31.10.2015
Immunotherapy May Ward Off Fall Asthma Attacks in Predisposed Children
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Stephen J. Teach, MD, MPH
Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Children's National Health System
Washington, DC
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Teach: Inner-city children aged 6 to 17 years with moderate to severe asthma continue to experience exacerbations at high rates during the fall season despite therapy which follows the guidelines of the National Institutes of Health. These exacerbations are most common among children with a history of prior exacerbations and sensitivities to common indoor allergens who develop an upper respiratory infection with the common cold virus (rhinovirus). The PROSE study found that treatment with omalizumab begun 4 to 6 weeks before the children return to school, significantly reduced exacerbations of asthma in the first 90 days of the school year. This effect was most dramatic among those children who had experienced an exacerbation in the months preceding the beginning of the school year. Omalizumab is an antibody which binds and deactivates the IgE antibody. The IgE antibody serves as the basis for allergic sensitivity.
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