Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 30, 1995 TAG: 9503300082
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Ibuprofen - the generic name for the drug found in Motrin, Nuprin, Advil and other common products - slows the deterioration of the lungs that is a hallmark of cystic fibrosis, according to a report in today's issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
During a four-year study of 85 patients ages 5 to 39, the rate of deterioration for those taking ibuprofen slowed by 60 percent compared with other patients, and slowed by 88 percent for patients under 13.
``It's a very important development for individuals with cystic fibrosis and their families,'' said Robert J. Beall, president of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Cystic fibrosis is the most common fatal inherited disease in the United States. It afflicts more than 30,000 children and young adults, and more than 1,000 new patients are diagnosed with the ailment annually. A genetic defect causes dense mucus to accumulate in the lungs, clogging the bronchi and pancreatic ducts and leading to breathing difficulties and a host of other medical problems.
In the lungs, patients develop a ``vicious cycle'' of mucus buildup, infection and destructive inflammation response by the body's own defenses that causes structural damage of the lungs over time, said pediatrician Michael Konstan of Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, the principal author of the study.
Ibuprofen breaks the cycle by reducing inflammation. ``What we're trying to do is prevent lung damage,'' he said.
Patients taking ibuprofen also maintained a healthier weight than members of the control group, who tended to be malnourished. Half of the study subjects took as much as 1,600 milligrams of the drug (equivalent to about eight over-the-counter pills) twice a day; the rest received a placebo.
At a time when new drug therapies almost invariably come with a dose of sticker shock, the ibuprofen treatment is surprisingly inexpensive. Researchers estimated that the drug would cost less than $200 annually.
By comparison, a year's supply of Pulmozyme, a drug approved in 1993 that helps break up the pulmonary congestion, costs an estimated $10,000 per year.
by CNB