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Experimental Treatment May Help Asthmatics

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May 12, 2006 6:15 pm US/Eastern

Experimental Treatment May Help Asthmatics

by Dr. Maria Simbra
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Preventing asthma attacks with heat?

Bronchial thermoplasty, an experimental new treatment that involves heating the inside of a patient's lungs, could help countless asthma patients breathe a little easier.

While most people's airways are wide open, the airway of a person with asthma is constricted and narrow. Normally smooth and even cells lining the inside are irregular, swollen and red – making it hard to breathe.

But doctors are hoping that they'll be able to "zap" the cells in the airways that cause the problem during an attack.

Based on animal studies, a tube is passed into the lung and heat from radio waves is used to destroy the smooth muscle cells that squeeze an asthmatic's airway shut.

While thermoplasty would not cure a person's asthma, doctors are hoping the treatment may help keep them out of the hospital and on less medication.

Thermoplasty is in such an early phase of research, many lung doctors in Pittsburgh are only a little familiar with it.

"I'm very excited about this new therapy if it turns out to be effective," says Dr. Andrej Petrov of UPMC Pulmonology, "but I don't know because I haven't seen data."

Again, this treatment is still in the experimental stages here in the US; but patient trials are ready to begin at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

If you're thinking about entering a clinical trial, it's important to first discuss the risks and possible benefits with your doctor. You should also keep in mind that doctors really don't know what will truly be helpful until the study is over.

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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