Posted on 05/11/2024 9:24:04 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Researchers have evaluated a drug called azithromycin, a macrolide antibiotic, to test if it would put moderate to severe asthma into remission.
Professor Peter Gibson says the findings were very promising.
"Remission in adults with asthma is a relatively new concept and a less researched area but it has recently gained attention. Recent studies have found that remission is possible in severe asthma treated with highly effective biologics therapies, a new class of drugs," Professor Gibson said.
"We've taken a different approach by testing another type of drug. We're the only people in the world to have tested this drug and we have confirmed that remission can be achieved in up to 50 percent of moderate to severe asthma patients treated with long-term azithromycin," Professor Gibson said.
"This is the first study reporting remission can be achieved using drugs other than biologics. Biologics are injection medicines, cost-prohibitive in low- and middle-income countries (approx. $500 to $3000/month) and restricted to most severe cases in high-income countries.
"Azithromycin—the drug we tested—is a low-cost oral therapy (approximately $15/week) and a guideline-recommended treatment for moderate to severe asthma. So, these findings have numerous implications," lead author, Dr. Dennis Thomas, said.
"Achieving remission has huge health and economic impact as exacerbations are completely abolished, symptoms are fully under control, and the need for risky drugs such as corticosteroids is totally eliminated. Future asthma treatment should aim to achieve asthma remission," Dr. Thomas said.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
From the study:
“Treatment group participants received 500 mg azithromycin three times a week for 48 weeks as add-on therapy, and the control group participants received matching placebo. Participants were followed-up for 12 months at regular intervals.”
It seems possible it is killing off bad bacteria that somehow cause asthma, or it is interfering with a process that causes, or helps cause, asthma symptoms, in my estimation, without having read hardly any of the paper.
What kills off bad bacteria, kills off good stuff.
I just finished reading a book called *The Good Gut*, and while probiotics are good to take during and after a course of antibiotics, the author contends that antibiotics permanently alter the gut microbiome and not for the good.
It was a very interesting book, and might be able to be had from the local library if someone doesn’t want to buy it.
I’m asthmatic, at least I was until 3 COVID infections. After 55 years of asthma I’ve been symptom free for over 2 years. I attributed to the virus but this article makes me think it may have been the multiple Z packs I took with the COVID.
I also lost sense of smell and my allergies went along with it.
Somehow COVID has been a huge net plus for me.
“It seems possible it is killing off bad bacteria that somehow cause asthma...”
Infections linked to influenza (flu), colds, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can trigger an asthma attack. Streptococcus pneumoniae, Hemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis have been linked to asthma exacerbations, particularly when sinusitis, most times a bacterial infecton, is present. Allergies, pollen, breathing in some chemicals, and acid reflux can also trigger attacks.
But, also, physical exercise; some medicines; bad weather, such as thunderstorms or high humidity; breathing in cold, dry air; and some foods and fragrances can also trigger an asthma attack. And an antibiotic can have no effect on this as it only treats the existance or possible biologic and “not viral infection.”
And that’s the key to the study. We alreaday know that biological infections are a factor in asthmatic events. This is why it is treated in many cases with steroids and Kflex, a cephalosporin antibiotic. It’s great for bacterial but has no effect on viral.
wy69
I went through a period a few years where nearly any kind of cold I’d get would turn into asthmatic bronchitis. Zithro offered immediate relief. Knock on wood... it stopped and hasn’t happened to me in 9+ years, including through covid and a couple flus.
Thanks for the ping.
But but but...that stuff is used on animals!
[https://www.petcoach.co/pet-medication/azithromycin/]
/s
Azithromycin, that’s an rather old drug...yes?
Azithromycin is also a macrolide antibiotic with well-described anti-inflammatory properties which can be attributed, at least partially, to its action on macrophages.
This is wonderful. I just looked at other articles and it might be helpful for COPD too.
I’ve been on antibiotics and corticosteroids twice in the last month. I’m still coughing. My COPD has caused me very little problems up until now but after having 5 hip replacements and a knee surgery (very little exercise) my breathing has gone downhill.
Very true, but if your lungs are shot your gut doesn’t much matter.
That’s true, too....
Having trouble breathing is far more of a problem than having trouble eating.
Both are problems, especially with the overuse of antibiotics we risk the possibility of them becoming ineffective for other illnesses.
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