Media Doctor Canada
  
Follow us on Twitter

Media

 

+

 

Doctor

 

Canada

"New treatment for asthma reduces flare- ups by half"


Vancouver Sun

Source: Vancouver Sun

Published: 29 Mar 2022

Category: Other

Rating: (2½ stars)

what they said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

A new asthma treatment that essentially burns away muscle that can make airways squeeze shut reduces by half the number of major asthma flare- ups over a year, a Canadian- led study shows.
" I think it's really the launch of a new era for the treatment of asthma," says Dr. John Miller, co- principal investigator of the study, published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine.
" This is the first non- drug treatment for asthma that has been shown to be effective," says Miller, division head of thoracic surgery at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and McMaster University.

how did it rate? (more information)

Criteria Rating
Total Score 5 of 10
Availability of Treatment Not Satisfactory (?)
Novelty of Treatment Satisfactory (?)
Disease Mongering Satisfactory (?)
Treatment Options Not Satisfactory (?)
Costs of Treatment Not Satisfactory (?)
Evidence Satisfactory (?)
Quantification of Benefits of Treatment Satisfactory (?)
Harms of Treatment Not Satisfactory (?)
Sources of Information Satisfactory (?)
Relies on Press Release Not Applicable
Quantification of harms of treatment Not Satisfactory (?)

what we said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

While new treatments for asthma are badly needed, this article minimizes the possibility that thermoplasty may be very dangerous. Additional details are needed about the intensity of the irritation, bronchitis, coughing and wheezing which follows treatment "for a week or two". Also, a one year study is a relatively short time period to evaluate such an invasive, repeated treatment for a chronic life-threatening disease. Far more caution is warranted in describing the results of this early stage study.

public forum

There are currently no comments on this article.

voice your opinion in the forum

  • All comments and feedback submitted to Media Doctor are subject to editorial approval before being made viewable by the public. It may take up to a week for your comments to be approved. Additionally, no response will be given to questions posed in public comments. Media Doctor does not provide medical advice, or answers to medical questions posed by the public.
  • If you provide your email address it will not be displayed to the general public.
  • Comments may be edited by Media Doctor to remove defamatory or sensitive statements, and brand names.
  • Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*).
Name: *
Organisation:
Email:
Comments: *
Copyright © Media Doctor Canada