Side Effects of Asthma Medication

Search Other Recommended Buteyko Sites:

To Check on Published Side Effects of Asthma Drugs Download pdf Chart Here

Experts Say Popular Asthma Drugs Are Too Dangerous For Children

Some of the most popular prescription drugs for treating asthma may be too dangerous for children under the age of 18, according to a panel of experts. Some of them are thought to be too dangerous for use in adults, too.

Advair and Serevent (made by GlaxoSmithKline), Symbicort (AstraZeneca), and Foradil (Novartis AG and Schering-Plow) are all inhaled long-acting beta agonist drugs (LABAs), which deliver long-lasting relief from asthma symptoms, but a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel has recommended the agency revoke approval of these drugs due to their tendency to provoke asthma attacks that increase the risk of death to patients taking them.Of particular concern is the danger these drugs pose to asthmatic children although the panel urged the FDA to revoke its approval of Serevent and Foradil for asthma patients of every age. These two drugs contain only LABAs but Advair and Symbicort combine LABAs with a steroid. The presence of the steroid is thought to provide a degree of protection that offsets the risk of the LABAs.

The decision to extend approval or revoke it is expected to come after the panel meets next week. Dr. Badrul Chowdhury says that while these drugs pose a “serious and significant safety risk,” they produce benefits that are “not trivial” and they do so with a risk of asthma-related death described as “numerically small.” Chowdhury is director of the FDA division that reviews the safety of drugs approved for pulmonary and allergy conditions. Chowdhury further states removing these inhaled LABAs is an “extreme approach” to managing the risks these drugs pose and doing so may prove “problematic.” Even if approval as asthma treatment is revoked, the drugs will still be available for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Submitted by MedHeadlines on 6 December, 2008

Warning Given on Use of Four Popular Asthma Drugs

Two federal drug officials have concluded that asthma sufferers risk death if they continue to use four hugely popular asthma drugs — Advair, Symbicort, Serevent and Foradil.

Visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/health/policy/06allergy.html

Asthma drugs: - Bronchodilators double death risk in first 12 months

A new study, from St George's Hospital in London, suggests that the inhaled short-acting beta-agonists are most likely to kill within the first 12 months of use, and the risk recedes after that. In that crucial period the risk of death can double, and the most susceptible group seems to be those in the 45 to 64 years age group, although the researchers say there could also be other factors at play. 2009

Asthma inhalers "can lead to attacks."

Inhalers that give short-term relief from asthma such as salbutamol can increase the risk of attacks if the drug is given regularly, a new study shows.

Visit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1504727/Asthma-inhalers-%27can-lead-to-attacks%27.html

Concern over major asthma drugs,

New York meeting July 2005 Serious concerns over safety of leading asthma drugs. A team of respiratory specialists are meeting to discuss their possible withdrawal. The financial implications of such a move would be serious for the leading international pharmaceutical companies. Perhaps greater recognition of drug therapy dangers will encourage the medical establishment to recommend Buteyko more?

See pdf file

Regular use of asthma drugs poses respiratory, cardiac dangers,

Cornell, Stanford researchers find in study critical of drug industry. Source: Cornell News June 2004 (Thursday, June 17, 2004) Physicians who prescribe the regular use of beta-agonist drugs for asthma could be endangering their patients, two new studies by researchers at Cornell and Stanford universities find. One study compiles previously published clinical trials to conclude that patients could both develop a tolerance for beta-agonists and be at increased risk for asthma attacks, compared with those who do not use the drug at all. The second study shows that beta-agonist use increases cardiac risks, such as heart attacks, by more than two-fold, compared with the use of a placebo. Furthermore, the researchers say that their analyses lead them to suspect a conflict of interest among scientists who are supported by pharmaceutical companies that make beta-agonists, among the world's most widely used drugs. This conflict, they say, could be putting 16 million U.S. asthma sufferers in harm's way. Their statement comes as the American Medical Association is voicing its concerns that drug industry sponsorship of clinical tests is affecting the quality of research.

Visit: http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/June04/beta_agonist.hrs.html

Serious dangers using beta-2 agonists, latest research

Study suggests Beta_2-agonists increase asthma complicationsJun 09, 2006 - Long-acting beta_2-agonists (LABA) put asthma patients at greater risk of complications compared with placebo, according to results from a large meta-analysisin the USA. The study of 19 controlled trials, including 33,826 patients, showed that those taking a LABA were over 2.5times as likely to be hospitalized and nearly twice as likely to have a life-threatening attack. "Use of long-acting beta_2-agonists could be associated with a clinically significant number of unnecessary hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions, and deaths each year," claim the authors of the report. See full report below.

Summary of report pdf file

Many more research articles will be added in the near future....under construction.