Pharmaxis has recently circulated ‘IOC Consensus Statement on Asthma in Elite Athletes’ in which it declared Aridol (mannitol) to get an approval as test by the “International Olympic Committee’s independent Medical Commission”. These athletes are competing in the Beijing Olympics.The IOC Medical Commission focused on finding whether the elite athletes were diagnosed correctly and they were administered the correct therapy for asthma. The commission didn’t test the efficacy of the treatments known as beta-2 agonists however it recommended a bronchial provocation examination like Aridol to diagnose asthma in Olympians.

There has been an increase in the occurrence of respiratory symptoms like recurrent breathlessness, cough, wheezing, chest tightness and excessive mucous production in the athletes, which may suggest prevalence of asthma. However these symptoms could not be singly relied upon to make a diagnosis of asthma in an athlete. Moreover, there is a possibility of the clinical examination to be normal so certain objective tests like spirometry are required to confirm the diagnosis.

Because athletes may have an FEV1 (Forced Expiratory Volume in one second FEV1) above the normal range, normal spirometry may show presence of airway obstruction. In that case, doctors recommend repetition of spirometry after inhalation of a bronchodilator to test for reversibility. Bronchial provocation test is another test to establish the presence of airway hyperresponsiveness in absence of any airway obstruction. In case of negative results in case of these tests, other disorders should be considered.

Developed by Pharmaxis, an Australian pharmaceutical company, Aridol has already won approval in Australia, several European countries and in parts of Asia. The “World Anti-Doping “guidelines have recommended it for testing athletes requesting to use asthma medication. Pharmaxis is also engaged in the research, development and commercialization of therapeutic products for chronic respiratory and autoimmune diseases.

Dr Alan Robertson, CEO, Pharmaxis says “Exercise-induced asthma can be a problem for elite athletes.” He further says that the risk of developing exercise induced asthma is aggravated by long-term intense endurance training and environmental factors, such as allergens, chlorine derivatives, pollutants or cold air can increase.

During the Aridol test, Aridol which is dry powder is administered to patients’ lungs via a small hand-held inhaler. Later results can be used by the doctors to spot airway hyperresponsiveness ¨C a hallmark of asthma. This would assist in deciding the correct medications to suit the severity of the disease.

Dr Robertson said the recent acceptance of Aridol internationally highlights the effectiveness of the test in tackling asthma worldwide. He says that it is a matter of delight that Aridol is gathering global acknowledgement as a valuable test to recognize airway hyperresponsiveness.

Along with the recommendations by the IOC and the “World Anti-Doping Agency”, it has also been acclaimed as one of the recommended tests in the “GINA Report of Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention”, in the US Asthma Management Guidelines and the Australian Asthma Management Handbook.

Articles/News published in here are unique and property of the site only. Copying Content or Publishing Article from AllinfoDir HealthInfo is strictly not allowed and against Site’s policy.