A nationwide study led by a UW-Madison doctor shows a new way to stop seasonal asthma attacks for some of the hardest-to-treat cases, namely kids in urban areas.
The start of school in the fall can cause problems for those with asthma. The so-called "September Epidemic" occurs when kids get colds that can land them in the ER as their asthma is triggered.
Dr. William Busse of UW-Madison led a study which found a roundabout way to prevent asthma -- focus on the allergies that often come with it.
"There's not a lot we can do at the present time in preventing colds, but the study that we did indicated that if you can reduce aspects of the allergic component of a patient's asthma, not only do you make asthma control better...you prevent them from having attacks."
Busse led a study of children with asthma in eight urban areas around the country, including New York, Boston and Chicago. Often for those kids, allergies and asthma tend to go hand in hand. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, up to half of urban residents with asthma are sensitive to cockroaches.
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Patients in the study not only got standard asthma treatment, but also an antibody. That combined treatment led to a 30-percent reduction in asthma attacks.
