title: Troleandomycin in the treatment of difficult asthma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  For difficult asthma, treatment is aimed at improving airway obstruction and minimizing adverse effects of systemic corticosteroids. The combination of troleandomycin (TAO) with methylprednisolone (MP) reportedly has a beneficial steroid-sparing effect on difficult asthma.
  
  
  METHODS
  To test the steroid-sparing effect of TAO, 14 subjects with severe corticosteroid-dependent asthma were studied before and during treatment with MP and TAO.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Treatment with MP and TAO resulted in a clear reduction in respiratory symptoms, asthmatic attacks, corticosteroid and hospitalization requirements, improvement in pulmonary function tests, and a remarkable decrease in peak expiratory flow rate circadian variability when compared with the period before TAO treatment (with corticosteroids). Treatment with MP and TAO was fairly well tolerated. Only a reduction (-5.2%, p < 0.01) in bone mineral content and an increase in plasma glucose levels (from 81.7 to 94.3 mg/dl, p < 0.05) were found, in comparison with pre-TAO values. One subject discontinued MP-TAO treatment because of a mild but persistent increase in serum alanine aminotransferase. In an evaluation of the clinical and pulmonary function test results, eight of the 14 subjects were responders and six were nonresponders. During follow-up three subjects discontinued TAO and consequently had an asthmatic attack after 4, 7, or 15 days, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study confirms that treatment with MP and TAO has a beneficial effect in a subgroup of severely steroid-dependent asthma patients.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Occupational Medicine, University of Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Siracusa
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brugnami
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fiordi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Areni
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Severini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marabini
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012907:Smoking; D014217:Troleandomycin / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D014217:Troleandomycin; D008775:Methylprednisolone