Experimental non-steroidal treatment of asthma holds promise

Washington, July 2 (ANI): A new non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory therapy made from human protein significantly decreased signs of asthma in mice, according to a study.

Youngman Oh, a study co-author and a professor of pathology at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, found said that the find may help treat other inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis too.

Oh and his colleagues showed that in mice, the production of IGFBP-3, a human protein, reduced all physiological manifestations of asthma including airway inflammation and hyper-reactivity.

The researchers administered IGFBP-3 to the mice by spraying a synthetic form of the protein into their opened trachea.

"Anti-inflammatory corticosteroid medicines are an important part of asthma management for many people, but an estimated 20 percent of patients with asthma are resistant to existing steroid medications and there is a critical need for alternate therapies," Oh said. (ANI)