Relief of constant, chronic dyspnea and reduction of sudden exacerbations – this is the result of modern biological therapy, recently reimbursed in Poland for patients with severe asthma. This is a new chance for them – doctors judge.
According to PAP, the head of the department of allergology and clinical immunology of the Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 5 of the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, prof. Barbara Rogala, asthma is a common disease – it affects about 7 percent. adult population and a dozen or so percent. kids.
She explained that chronic allergic inflammation in the bronchial tree causes bronchial hyperreactivity, which in contact with stimuli from the external environment – which does not cause any symptoms in a healthy person – causes smooth muscle contraction and intensification of the inflammatory process. It causes a feeling of breathlessness and ventilation disorders, very troublesome for patients.
Prof. Rogala emphasized that although asthma is an incurable disease, thanks to the development of medicine in the last 30 years, great progress has been made and in most cases it is possible to successfully control the symptoms of the disease with inhaled steroids.
Severe asthma sufferers account for a few percent of those suffering from asthma. Due to constant exacerbations, incl. in the form of life-threatening dyspnea attacks, they are often hospitalized, including intensive care units. In their case, inhalation therapy is not enough and patients have to take system steroids that are not so safe and cause troublesome side effects – in the form of tablets or injections. Patients who take them often struggle with overweight.
At the end of last year, the so-called biological therapy, a preparation that inhibits the functions of immunoglobulin E, initiating allergic inflammation in the bronchial tree, which is the essence of asthma. “This therapy offers a lot of hope for these patients, it is another chance for them. Thanks to the decision of the Ministry of Health, patients in Poland have access to such modern methods of therapy as all over the world “- said Prof. Barbara Rogala.
As she noted, the advancement of medicine also means that more severe cases of asthma are detected. Although it is not a hereditary disease, one can speak of a family predisposition to its occurrence. Allergic rhinitis is a serious risk factor, so it must be treated, preferably by specific immunotherapy, i.e. desensitization.
Most asthma exacerbations are observed in the fall and winter. Viral infections are dangerous, but also foggy weather, humidity, smoking or air pollution – inhabitants of agglomerations are more exposed to exacerbations than inhabitants of health resorts. During adolescence, asthma symptoms often regress, resulting in long-term remission. “The stigma of bronchial hyperreactivity, however, remains forever and such a person should certainly strictly adhere to the principles of prophylaxis” – noted Prof. Croissant. (PAP)