Children diagnosed with severe asthma may not obtain the full level of therapeutic relief from traditional asthma medications because of a little-known infection. At the time of publication, researchers presented evidence that an antibiotic can eradicate the bacteria, helping these children take control of their asthma symptoms. Asthma is a chronic disease with no cure. Symptoms can usually be treated with medications that help relax the airways, but for those children who harbor the bacteria, antibiotic treatment may be needed.
Chlamydia Pneumoniae Antibodies
Researchers from the University of Massachusetts announced a link between severe asthma and the Chlamydia pneumoniae bacteria. At a 2011 meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Eduard Drizik said, “We conclude that a subset of severe asthmatics harbor infections C. pneumoniae in their lungs, resulting in antibody production and increased asthma severity.”
Children diagnosed with severe asthma were included in a study that asked whether the confirmation of the presence of C. pneumonaie-specific antibodies could be used to predict the severity of asthma. The study went on to determine whether these children would benefit from antibiotic treatment.
Antibiotic Treatment
For the asthma patients – children as well as adults – who had C. pneumonaie IgE antibodies in their systems, antibiotic treatment led to “significant” improvement in their asthma symptoms. Some study participants experienced a complete “abolition” of their asthma symptoms, reports the ScienceDaily website. The study concluded that physicians should study the involvement of disease-causing microbes in severe asthma. “There might be a cure for some types of asthma after all,” said Drizik.
Azithromycin vs. Chlamydia P.
Children that develop severe asthma symptoms may have Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies in their systems. For these children, traditional asthma treatments with inhalers, corticosteroids and nebulizers does not relieve their symptoms or make breathing easy. For the parents and doctors of these children, treatment with azithromycin may lead to a decrease in the severity of their symptoms, if not a complete cessation.
Dr. David L. Hahn has been prescribing this antibiotic for his patients for several years. He has seen significant improvements in his patients, saying the medication is “almost like a magic bullet for intracellular infections.” Azithromycin’s actions take place within cells, killing the C. pneumoniae bacteria.
Dosing Recommendations
Doctors that prescribe azythromycin for their pediatric asthma patients need to prescribe a 14-week course of medication so it has time to get into the cells where the C. pneumoniae microbes have lodged themselves. Because of the medical profession’s concern about antibiotic overprescription, some patients and their families have experienced resistance from their doctors when they ask about this form of asthma therapy. Because as of 2011 the research and its findings are so new, doctors do not know about the potential of this medication in treating severe asthma caused by C. pneumonaie infection.
