More Funding for Asthma Research Could Save Lives

More Funding for Asthma Treatment Research Could Be Difference Between Life Or Death for Some

Asthma and Respiratory Foundation - Media Release
Embargoed to Friday 4 May

As many as 30 percent of people with asthma may not be being helped by their "preventer" steroid inhaler, and the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation is calling for more research funding so they can be treated more appropriately .

Executive Director Jane Patterson says a new diagnostic tool is enabling patients who are unlikely to respond to inhalers to be identified.

"The nitric oxide test measures steroid-responsive inflammation levels in people's airways. People with asthma who have steroid-unresponsive inflammation with a low level of exhaled nitric oxide are less likely to be helped by current "preventer" inhalers, but up to now it hasn't been possible to distinguish them from people who do respond.

"However, now we can identify those people - although we are not yet sure of the best way to treat them."

She is calling for more public support for asthma treatment research.

"In New Zealand, one in four children and one in six adults has asthma - that's over 600,000 people. It is possible that the inflammation causing symptoms of up to a third of them cannot be helped by the use of a traditional "preventer" inhaler containing steroid.

"It is therefore imperative we find out how we can help these people. A key step would be to make nitric oxide testing more widely available. This is now happening in a few centres in New Zealand. The second step is to research ways to treat patients when they are identified as having steroid-unresponsive asthma."

Jane Patterson says the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation is currently providing funding for research that will look at how to manage this type of asthma, however it is not able to fully fund it and more money for research will help this and other projects.

"We need more funding to help us carry out this research. Donations from the public will be used for asthma research, such as finding ways to treat people with steroid-unresponsive asthma. Tomorrow is Balloon Day - our primary fund-raising event."

People can attend Balloon Day events at Mitre 10 Mega stores and other selected venues or call 0900-4-ASTHMA (0900-427-8462) to make an automatic $20 donation or text BREATHE to 3979 to make a $3 donation.

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Balloon Day

Saturday 5 May is Balloon Day, the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation's primary fundraising event. This year the focus is on raising money for child asthma research, and raising awareness of the high incidence of respiratory illness in New Zealand.

For further information, see the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation's website: www.asthmafoundation.org.nz.

Background information about the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation

The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of NZ (Inc.) is a non-governmental charitable organisation that provides education, information, advocacy and research on asthma and other respiratory conditions. For more information, visit www.asthmafoundation.org.nz.

New Zealand Statistics

- One in four children has asthma.

- One in six adults has asthma.

- New Zealand has the second highest rate of asthma in the world behind the United Kingdom.

- 550,000 school days every year are lost to asthma-related absences.

- Asthma is still the most common cause of childhood hospital admissions.

- Asthma hospital admission rates for Maori and Pacific children are increasing.

ENDS

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