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Asthma sufferers may breathe easier thanks to a new treatment being evaluated by an international consortium of researchers, including Dr. Ronald Olivenstein, 捆绑SM社区 Health Centre Asthma Clinic Director. Their multi-centre clinical study, the Asthma Intervention Research (AIR) trial, involves using thermal energy (heat) to treat asthmatic airways 鈥� referred to as bronchial thermoplasty. Their findings, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, show promising results for patients with moderately severe to severe asthma. This study is part of a global clinical trial to examine the efficacy and safety of this technique, led by Dr. Michel Laviolette of the University of Laval as senior author.

"We saw improved asthma control following bronchial thermoplasty,鈥� says Dr. Olivenstein, a 捆绑SM社区 assistant professor of medicine. 鈥淭his technique provides for the first time, a non-medicinal treatment option.鈥�

The bronchial thermoplasty patients showed the following positive findings in comparison with patients not treated with the procedure:

• reduced rate of asthma exacerbation per year;
• increased number of days per year without asthma symptoms;
• improved quality of life;
• decreased amount of rescue medication (short acting bronchodilators) required per day 鈥� improved overall control of asthma.

Medication is currently the traditional treatment available for asthma sufferers. Bronchial thermoplasty is an outpatient procedure performed under light sedation and involves insertion of a catheter with a thermal tip into the airways of the lung that allows for application of the thermal energy at various points within the airway. Currently, three such procedures are required to completely treat the airways. Each treatment takes 30 to 45 minutes and patients return home the same day and are able to resume normal activities.

Researchers from Canada, Denmark, Britain, and Brazil evaluated 112 asthma patients. Half were treated only with traditional asthma drugs and half were treated with bronchial thermoplasty in addition to the asthma drugs. Thermoplasty patients showed more improvement in the overall control of asthma than those receiving inhaled medication.

Asthma is a common disease in which the airways in the lung become inflamed in response to an asthma trigger, such as an allergen or irritant. Excess mucus is produced and the muscles in the airway walls may contract and narrow, leading to breathing difficulties. Asthma affects over 2.7 million Canadians and causes over 500 deaths each year in Canada and is increasing globally.

This study was financed by Asthmatx Inc., developers of the Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty system. Dr. Olivenstein and other members of this team have no financial interest in Asthmatx Inc.

The 捆绑SM社区 Health Centre (MUHC) is a comprehensive academic health institution with an international reputation for excellence in clinical programs, research and teaching. The MUHC is a merger of five teaching hospitals affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at 捆绑SM社区 - the Montreal Children鈥檚, Montreal General, Royal Victoria, and Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, as well as the Montreal Chest Institute. Building on the tradition of medical leadership of the founding hospitals, the goal of the MUHC is to provide patient care based on the most advanced knowledge in the health care field, and to contribute to the development of new knowledge. .

The Research Institute of the 捆绑SM社区 Health Centre (RI MUHC) is a world-renowned biomedical and health-care hospital research centre. Located in Montreal, Quebec, the institute is the research arm of the MUHC, a university health center affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at 捆绑SM社区. The institute supports over 500 researchers, nearly 1000 graduate and post-doctoral students and operates more than 300 laboratories devoted to a broad spectrum of fundamental and clinical research. The Research Institute operates at the forefront of knowledge, innovation and technology and is inextricably linked to the clinical programs of the MUHC, ensuring that patients benefit directly from the latest research-based knowledge. For further details visit: .

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