OBJECTIVE To present results of 2 studies assessing the impact of 3 commonly prescribed dual-controller regimens on the cost of treating asthma in several managed care populations. DATA SOURCES Two previously published cross-sectional and longitudinal retrospective studies of patients aged 12-65 years with asthma, in selected managed care plans, who were taking an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)...

BackgroundAcute otitis media (AOM) is very common in children. In spite of spontaneously relief, some cases suffer from the recurrence and other complications occurring after AOM. Animal studies have proved that persistence of leukotrienes in the middle ear may play a role in the development of AOM. Based on this statement, treatment with leukotriene modifiers may be effective in the treatment ...

Montelukast is a selective and competitive cysteinyl leukotriene receptor antagonist (CystLTRA) which is increasingly used for the treatment of allergic asthma. Recently, hepatotoxicity has been reported with this drug in adult patients, but only one letter to the editor has reported a case of probable montelukast-induced hepatotoxicity in a child. We present a case of a 3.5-year-old boy, recei...

Antileukotriene drugs are new therapeutic agents that have recently been approved for the treatment of asthma. Several cases of eosinophilic conditions including ChurgStrauss syndrome have been reported to be associated with zafirlukast, a cysteinyl leukotriene type 1 receptor antagonist. So far no other leukotriene modifier has been associated with the syndrome. The case history is presented o...

Antileukotriene drugs are new therapeutic agents that have recently been approved for the treatment of asthma. Several cases of eosinophilic conditions including Churg-Strauss syndrome have been reported to be associated with zafirlukast, a cysteinyl leukotriene type 1 receptor antagonist. So far no other leukotriene modifier has been associated with the syndrome. The case history is presented ...

Clinical trials with leukotriene synthesis inhibitors and cysteinyl leukotriene (cys-LT) receptor antagonists have shown that cys-LTs (LTC4, LTD4, and LTE4) are the predominant mediators of bronchoconstriction in response to diverse asthma triggers including allergen, PAF, sulphur dioxide, and non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). In addition, inhalation of a single dose of a cys-LT ca...

OBJECTIVE Interindividual clinical response to leukotriene modifiers is highly variable, and less efficacious than inhaled corticosteroids in treating asthma. Genetic variability in 5-lipoxygenase biosynthetic and receptor pathway gene loci may influence cysteinyl-leukotriene production and subsequent response to leukotriene modifiers. METHODS Using data from two clinical trials of 12-week du...