Pravastatin, a drug known to prevent or stall the progress of heart disease may also be able to alleviate symptoms of asthma according to promising results in lab trials.
The drug is known to regulate cholesterol production in the body, but new research shows that it may also modulate immune responses for a number of diseases.
A new delivery method, a new treatment
The drug showed some promise for treating asthma while taken orally, but researchers wanted to target the respiratory system in hopes of improving the disease. Researchers pursued inhalation because Pravastatin is water soluble and easily converted to an aerosol.
Pravastatin is only approved for oral ingestion in humans, but researchers tested an inhalable version of the drug on lab mice. According to Futurity, the results showed that this use could improve airway health without creating problems in other areas of the body or causing toxic effects.
The treatment lowered airway over-sensitivity that can lead to bronchospasm, it also had some anti-inflammatory effects, and reduced mucus produced in the airway lining.
“Our ultimate goal is to reduce the onset of bronchospasms that make asthma dangerous and can lead to hospitalizations and death,” says Amir Zeki, assistant professor of internal medicine at the UC Davis Health System and lead author of the study who specializes in treating asthma. “While we can’t cure the disease yet, we might be able to improve symptoms and make it much easier to live with”
Pravastatin is the latest in a line of drugs that changes usage midway through its life. Viagra was once intended to be a drug that treated treat angina, a disease of the heart. During testing, some other potential uses for Vagra manifested themselves. Pravastatin isn’t the first drug to do this, and it won’t be the last.
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