The Icons of Sydney
I had the pleasure of being invited to Sydney to participate in a Masterclass in Allergy Respiratory Medicine. The weather was raining, occasionally cloudy and cool. However, it was a nice respite from the humid sauna that I am used to in Malaysia. I took the opportunity to walk to Sydney harbor to snap this picture. They are the two icons of Sydney in one photo! On the left is the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the right is the Sydney Opera House. I was very lucky, as shortly after this photo, it started raining again! To me, the Sydney Opera House looks like clam shells! I would love to go for an opera show in there one day!
Biologics in Asthma
One of the interesting discussions that we had is the use of biologics in severe asthma. Biologics are a type of medicine that consists of manufactured antibodies that target a specific protein such as receptors or interleukins. By targeting these proteins, you can modify a body’s immune response and generate a specific medical benefit to treat diseases. Right now there a few biologics that can be used for asthma, and it looks like each individual biologic may be better for the different types of asthma.
Research is also starting to show that the use of biologics may be disease modifying for asthma. And if that is the case, we should not reserve it to treat severe asthmatic disease, as the greatest benefit will be to prevent severe disease by treating it early while it is still mild. There is much we need to learn, as we will need to figure out which asthmatic person will most likely benefit and when prevention strategies are best.
As biologics are extremely expensive, we will also need to figure out when we can stop them. And while on biologic therapy, we need to know which medicines can be stopped first. Lots of research potential! I want to also call to attention that Allergen Specific Immunotherapy is a treatment used by Allergist/Immunologist that has more than 100 years history and has been clearly demonstrated to prevent allergies, reduce medication use and is disease modification with long term benefits after completion.
Lastly, I would like to call on more research and treatment strategies for “Non allergic” Asthma. We have effective treatments for allergic asthma but there are an asthma subset which are not considered Th2 allergic. We discussed on the use of macrolides, and the role of respiratory infections.
Information you can use
- If you have severe asthma with frequent attacks needing steroids and hospitalization, biologics can help.
- Biologics have many types: anti-IL4, anti-IL5, anti-TSLP, anti-IgE. Different types to suit different types of asthma.
- If you have allergies, allergen specific immunotherapy can help.
- Asthma can also be triggered by respiratory infections.
If you need help
If you are suffering from asthma, please seek proper evaluation. Allergist/Immunologist specialists are trained to take care of these conditions and the Allergy Immunology Clinic is ready to serve your needs
