Telithromycin antibiotic may help reduce some symptoms of a bad asthma attack

According to a new study an antibiotic may help reduce some symptoms of a bad asthma attack.

The majority of acute asthma attacks are thought to be linked with viral infections which are not affected by antibiotics.

The researchers however believe the positive effects of the drug may be as a result of its impact on two bacteria - Chlamydophila pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumoniae - found present in 61% of patients in the study.

They suggest the presence of these bacteria could make asthma attacks more severe and that the anti-inflammatory effects of Telithromycin play a part in reducing recovery time.

In an international study of 278 patients it was found that patients who took the antibiotic telithromycin, sold by Sanofi-Aventis under the name Ketek, for 10 days after their attacks showed a drop in asthma symptoms.

Patients in 70 centres around the world, including St Mary's Hospital in London, were enrolled in the study within 24 hours of needing medical attention for an acute asthma attack and split into two groups.

One group were given 800 mgs of Telithromycin daily for 10 days while the other received a dummy version of the drug.

Both were given the usual treatment for asthma as well.

Symptoms and lung function for the patients in the Telithromycin group were seen to improve significantly compared to those given the dummy drug and those improvements were almost twice as great towards the end of the treatment period, say the researchers.

Recovery time from an acute attack was reduced from eight to five days for those on the drug, which is not licensed for the treatment of asthma but is used to treat pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and sinusitis.

But they also found by gauging how much air patients could exhale, the antibiotic showed no benefit, and those who took the drug were also more likely to experience nausea.

Asthma is an incurable condition which affects 300 m people worldwide but its symptoms are eased using steroids.

By using a 7-point scale that measured symptoms such as wheezing, coughing and chest tightness with 7 the most severe, most patients rated their symptoms at about 3 before treatment.

Those receiving the drug eventually had their score drop an average of 1.3 points and the placebo recipients had a drop of 1.0 point said the researchers.

Ketek has previously come under scrutiny because it may, in rare cases, cause liver poisoning.

In three such instances reported in January, one patient died, another required a transplant, and the third recovered.

The drug was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2004, has been prescribed about 2.7 million times.

The study was financed by the drug company Sanofi-Aventis.

The study is published in the current edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.