DOES ACID REFLUX WORSEN ASTHMA? STUDY AIMS TO FIND OUT

5/02/06

A new national multicenter study led by pulmonary researchers at OSU Medical Center aims to determine whether treating acid reflux -- suffered by up to 35 percent of asthmatics -- could help relieve asthma symptoms, especially by reducing the frequency of asthma attacks. "We've known for quite a while that patients with asthma who also have acid reflux tend to do worse, but there hasn't been much science behind the relationship," says John Mastronarde, MD, a pulmonologist at OSU Medical Center and director of its asthma center. "Whether patients with asthma respond to acid reflux treatment is an important question to answer and has the potential to improve patients' quality of life."

Dr. Mastronarde is project leader for the trial, and OSU Medical Center is the lead center among 20 universities that are enrolling adult patients with known asthma for six months to see if taking a proton pump inhibitor can alleviate asthma symptoms.

To read the entire press release, go to OSUMC Press Releases

For information on participating in this clinical trial, contact lung.research@osumc.edu