Clinical Utility of Exhaled Nitric Oxide Highlighted By American Thoracic Soc...( Panel also addresses limitations of c...),Health

Panel also addresses limitations of current randomized trials

MENLO PARK, Calif., June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Apieron, Inc. highlighted recent clinical panel presentations underscoring the positive impact of measuring exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) for treating asthma in adults and children. The company also cited recognition that design and methodology issues led to mixed results in some randomized trials of eNO-guided therapy. Apieron develops and markets non-invasive monitors that measure exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) for better asthma management.

At the American Thoracic Society's recent annual meeting, panelists in a session titled "Understanding Exhaled Nitric Oxide Gas Exchange" reported that adopters of eNO measurement have seen a significantly positive impact in treatment of adults and children, and that numerous academic studies support these clinical observations. The panelists also concurred with a paper by Prof. P.G. Gibson, University of Newcastle in Australia, outlining the limitations present in the design and methodology of ASthma TReatment ALgorithm (ASTRAL) studies and suggested design features for future studies. These design features, Dr. Gibson concludes in his paper, "should improve study performance and aid in obtaining a better estimate of eNO-guided asthma therapy." Clinical & Experimental Allergy published the paper, "Using fractional exhaled nitric oxide to guide asthma therapy: design and methodological issues for ASthma TReatment ALgorithm studies," in its April 2009 issue. An abstract is available here.

"eNO measurement needs to be an integral part of asthma treatment, and we look forward to stronger studies and practice guidelines for eNO to bring this important marker into mainstream practice," said Bhairavi Parikh, PhD, Ap
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