Many genes, environmental and behavioral factors are at work in the development of asthma. Understanding more about these factors could lead to more effective therapies.
Many signs of asthma are subtle and hard to detect. The common symptoms of asthma have been described in great detail and include wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and nausea and vomiting. Because many asthma symptoms may be similar to upper respiratory tract infections (urticaria, sneezes, or colds), people with asthma should seek medical attention if their symptoms are not improving. Symptoms of a more serious condition, such as a bronchospasm from an upper respiratory tract infection or a lung infection, usually resolve within 5 days. However, bronchospasms from asthma may respond rapidly to medication. For this reason, it is important for people with asthma to monitor the frequency and severity of symptoms.
While a wide range of medications are available, there isn't a consensus when it comes to medication recommendations. Most patients are switched back and forth between multiple medications in an attempt to control symptoms. Patients are also commonly given bronchodilators in an attempt to control their lung function. Future evidence development is needed to determine the efficacy and safety of inhaled and nasal corticosteroid treatment for asthma.
A total of 8.4 million cases will occur in the United States in 2010, making it the most common chronic respiratory disease in the country. This number of patients will decrease by 13% in 2030 due to increased awareness of the disease by medical providers and a declining prevalence of smoking among the general US population. The most common symptom, chronic cough, will remain widespread despite increased detection of chronic asthma, which has a much lower annual prevalence.
Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease characterised by bronchial hyperresponsiveness to allergens (atopic asthma) and/or infection (atopic asthma plus atopic dermatitis). There have been reported increases in its prevalence among adults and children in industrialized countries.\n
Asthma cannot be cured. However, most patients can enjoy complete symptom relief or in the case of more urgent exacerbations, an antihistamine or bronchodilator can be administered effectively.
The most common adverse event was dry nose and throat (28%). No serious adverse reactions were reported. There were no statistically significant differences among patients taking emmi and placebo in any of the primary or secondary efficacy outcomes, safety profiles or quality of life assessments. Emmi is well tolerated with a low rate of adverse events by the doses and frequencies used. http://www.emi-international.com/EN/content/product-information.
EMM can work together as a complement of any conventional asthma therapy in controlling asthma symptoms, and in improving lung function in mild to moderate cases with chronic allergic diseases including asthma. EMM can also help in controlling exacerbations including the onset of airway hyper-responsiveness.
The current literature has an increased number of trials for asthma compared to the last review. But a shortage of randomized trials is still an issue. Trial registration, reporting, and reporting of the results of clinical trials have to more standardised.
In our studies the emmi was well tolerated. Results from a recent clinical trial support the need for further controlled studies in patients experiencing symptomatic exacerbation and/or refractory symptoms. It is important to note that emmi does not alter the effectiveness or safety of existing medicines used to treat conditions like asthma. We would propose a small study is urgently needed prior to implementing emmi as an OTC medicine.