Asthma treatment may one day take non-drug forms, and severe asthmatics who don�t respond well to current medication could find pulmonary relief through surgery.

Sound far-fetched? It�s not, ever since the March 29 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine published the results of two Canadian physicians� study of a new, minimally invasive experimental procedure called bronchial thermoplasty. While current asthma treatments concentrate on suppressing inflammation and controlling the allergic response through prescription drugs, the new procedure targets the actual smooth muscle fibers in the bronchioles. During an asthma flare, these muscles contract into spasms and restrict airflow.

Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) involves using radio waves through a bronchoscope to burn off some of that muscle. The therapy takes three outpatient treatments spaced three weeks apart, and patients need only light anesthesia. Even though BT doesn�t turn off that hypersensitivity that plagues asthmatics and is not a cure, it destroys the muscles that normally spasm and constrict the airway when the asthma response does engage.

In the study, Dr. Gerard Cox and Dr. John Miller followed 112 patients, half of whom had thermoplasty treatments. One year after the procedure, this half showed vast airway improvement and decreased use of rescue medicines over the control group.

The medical community is already discussing bronchial thermoplasty as an option for severe asthmatics who have tried all other treatments with little improvement. I plan to follow the further studies of this startling new therapy because I�d like to know the long-term effects of destroying bronchial tissue, if there are any. I�m also interested in how bronchial thermoplasty affects the excess mucus production that plagues asthmatics, and if moderate asthmatics like my daughter will someday benefit from the procedure.

This development takes asthma treatment in a whole new direction, one that doesn�t involve medication. Various medical reports and editorials discuss how bronchial thermoplasty could open new avenues of research because it focuses on a new area, the actual bronchial muscles, rather than on the inflammation/immune response. And any new research that sheds light on this incurable and steadily rising disease is a good thing.


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"Smile, breathe and go slowly." -Thich Nhat Hanh



This article is not written by a medical professional, and information on this page should never be substituted for your physcian's advice. If you have any questions about your asthma and/or allergies, you should always contact your physician first.