As per a recently concluded study, inhaled corticosteroids are more effective than sodium cromoglycate for treating asthma along with helping a lending hand to the lung to function in a normal way.

The study remarked that the superiority of inhaled corticosteroids tends to increase with its moderate low doses, compared to its low doses, as per Dr James Guevara, Department of Pediatrics at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine in Philadelphia and lead review author of this study.

From News.Bio-Medicine.org:

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and sodium cromoglycate (SCG) are both used to help people with asthma. SCG is believed to have a low risk of causing long-term side effects, but despite anxieties relating to routine use of steroids, the use of ICS has steadily increased since the 1990s.

While they are both known to work, there has previously been a debate as to whether one is superior to the other.

By pooling data from randomized controlled trials that directly compared the effects of ICS and SCG the Cochrane Review Authors could assess the relative benefits of each. They considered measures of lung function, asthma control and the use of general healthcare services such as GPs and hospitals.

Their conclusion was that ICS controls asthma better than SCG and that it also leads to improved lung function. They were, however, unable to decide whether there were differences in side-effects as most of the trials ran for too short a time to assess long-term outcomes.

“The superiority of ICS over SCG appears to increase when patients use moderate doses of ICS, compared with when low doses of ICS are used,” says lead Review Author Dr James Guevara, who works in the department of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

Inhaled Corticosteroids have the ability to control asthma in a better manner than sodium cromoglycate and seems to be a better option for patients with asthma, DR Guevara concluded.

The study is believed to benefit almost more than one million asthma patients in the United States alone. This study has been accepted by the medical fraternity as a new ray of hope for future treatment developments in asthma management.

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