Nano particle-based drugs have made the life of asthmatics a lot more easy, enabling them to breathe freely. The first Tuesday of May (May 6 this year) is observed as World Asthma Day. While new drugs and drug delivery systems are making a world of difference to asthmatics, pollution, pets and certain varieties of food are turning the “triggers”. But, advances in medical science have facilitated the production of effective drugs.
Nano particles - particles that are smaller then 200 nanometres (one billionth of a metre) – are more effective in the treatment of asthma, as they pass easily into the depth of the lungs and act on the compounds (triggers) that cause allergic inflammation, which causes the illness.
Inhalation therapy in itself was a small miracle for asthmatics who had to take vasodilators (drugs that widen blood vessels) orally after getting an attack. In fact, a lot of time lapsed and pain endured before the drug began to act. With the introduction of inhalers, relief, depending on the severity of the attack, is almost instantaneous because the drug is delivered directly to the target tissue.
But, there are issues with regard to the drug delivery system. “Only 20 to 25 per cent of the drug reached the target tissue,” says pulmonologist Anil Kancherla. The introduction of nano particles has further improved the ‘targeted drug delivery’ system. In the conventional drug delivery system, the drug has to be absorbed through biological membranes, which is much slower.
The advantage of targeted-release system is decrease in side-effects. “Inhalation therapy is safe for diabetics, cardiac patients, pregnant women and even children,” says Dr. Anil. Breath-activated devices have made it easy for all to use inhalation therapies. Though these devices are comparatively expensive, they work out cheaper in the long run, Dr. Anil adds.
Commenting on the latest therapies, Dr. Anil says: “Bronchio-thermoplastry is the state-of-the-art therapy for acute bronchial asthma. The inflammation in the lungs is reduced by the application of heat through laser.”
