A study led by two Canadian doctors reveals patients treated with bronchial thermoplasty, the first non-drug treatement for asthma, showed an overall improvement in asthma control.

Co-Principal Investigators, Dr. Gerard Cox, respirologist at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton's Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, and Professor at McMaster University, and Dr. John Miller, Division Head of Thoracic Surgery at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and McMaster University authored the study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Bronchial thermoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that reduces the amount of airway smooth muscle that is responsible for the constriction of airways in asthma patients. Using a flexible bronchoscope through the nose or the mouth, physicians treat small to medium sized airways with a device that generates radio frequency/thermal energy and reduces areas of underlying smooth muscle in the airways.

"These findings are very encouraging and are consistent with earlier trial results on bronchial thermoplasty," explains Cox. "These results make us hopeful that bronchial thermoplasty may be a new option for asthma patients who have asthma symptoms despite use of current drug therapies."

The study titled "Asthma Control during the Year after Bronchial Thermoplasty" showed improved asthma control at one year following the bronchial thermoplasty procedure.

Patients treated with bronchial thermoplasty, compared to another group that did not receive the procedure, showed significant positive changes such as: decreases in asthma attacks, increases in days with no asthma symptoms, improvement in quality of life, reduction in using medication, and an improvement in asthma control.

The randomized controlled trial included 112 patients between the ages of 18-65 at 11 centers in four countries, and followed these patients for one year after treatment.

The procedure is completed in three treatment sessions, each lasting less than one hour, and spaced apart by about three weeks. The procedure, like many other flexible endoscopy procedures, is done under light anesthesia, and the patient returns home the same day.

Several years ago, Miller began limited bronchial thermoplasty procedures in patients who were scheduled to have lung surgery.

"We saw that this particular way of treating the airway had a profound effect on the smooth muscle and not much else, Miller explains. "The amount of smooth muscle is significantly reduced by thermoplasty and we recognized that this procedure might therefore be an appropriate treatment for people with asthma."

"I'm quite pleased to say that our experience suggests that the Bronchial Thermoplasty procedure is quite well-tolerated, and it holds considerable promise for patients with asthma."

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