1. When Bronchial Tubes Go Bad
Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs that inflames the airways, or bronchial tubes, of the lungs. The disease is believed to inflict as many as 300 million people worldwide. There is no cure for asthma, and it is usually treated with medications, most commonly medicated inhalers such as corticosteroids or bronchodilators. If you're one of those 300 million people, how interested would you be in a non-invasive procedure that can be done on an outpatient basis in under an hour and give you the potential to toss that inhaler away?
2. Breathing Easier
A promising procedure called bronchial thermoplasty, developed in Canada, may one day have asthma sufferers breathing easier. Available only to those in clinical trials at this time, bronchial thermoplasty addresses the constriction of smooth muscles in the bronchial tubes that cause the airways to narrow during an asthma attack. Heat is applied to those smooth muscles during a bronchial thermoplasty, changing the muscle's ability to constrict as tightly. It is hoped that the end result will not only lessen asthma symptoms, but one day decrease or eliminate the need for medication as well.
3. Bronchial Thermoplasty Easier Done Than Said
Imagine walking into the hospital as an outpatient, receive little anesthesia, and have the potential to be free of asthma symptoms in as little as 30 minutes? That's how easy a bronchial thermoplasty is performed. A thin flexible tube called a bronchoscope is passed into your lungs through your windpipe. Radio frequency thermal energy is passed through the bronchoscope and heats the smooth muscles (at 149 degrees F, enough to reduce the mass of the smooth muscle but not cause any damage to the tissue). Up to three sessions are required to treat all airways.
4. A Short-term Side Effect Observed
In studies conducted thus far, it has been shown that a bronchial thermoplasty is well-tolerated, with only minor side effects. The most common seen is an actual increase in asthma symptoms in a 24-hour period following the procedure, but this condition usually lessens within a week. Other side effects were "transient and typical of what is commonly observed after bronchoscopy", according to Dr. Gerard Cox of the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health in Ontario, who conducted a two-year study on the impact and safety of bronchial thermoplasty.
5. Positive Study Results Show Promise for Future of Bronchial Thermoplasty
Overall, the results of one- and two-year studies of clinical trials of bronchial thermoplasty have been promising. Many show a dramatic increase in lung function and decrease in airway constriction. Fifty percent of patients in one study were off their corticosteroid inhalers within one year (only 14 percent of those who did not have the procedure done were off medication). While smooth muscle constriction is not the sole reason for asthma and bronchial thermoplasty is not suggested as a cure, it is a procedure that may have a definite impact on the treatment of this disease in the future.
