Asthma Zero Week from 15 to 19 May and from 12 to 16 June – breaking latest news

It is a disease with many variants, characterized by chronic inflammation of the airways, can be treated effectively and patients can achieve good control; however, exacerbations, a more rapid decline in respiratory function, and serious side effects can occur if management is not appropriate. To make asthmatic patients aware of the importance of prevention and the possibility of reducing the impact on quality of life, it returns for the seventh year «Asma Zero Week», national event which provides for two weeks, from 15 to 19 May and from 12 to 16 June, free specialist consultations for patients who have already received a diagnosis of asthma in about 40 specialized centers throughout Italy, which can be booked on the toll-free number 800 628989 The campaign is promoted by FederASMA and ALLERGIE – Italian Federation of Patients ODV, in collaboration with Respiriamo Insieme – APS, under the patronage of the Italian Society of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology (SIAAIC) and the Italian Society of Pneumology (SIP/IRS) , in partnership with AstraZeneca.

«Asma Zero Week started in 2017 and this year it doubles: it will take place for two weeks – explains Mario Picozza, President of FederASMA and ALLERGIE-. We are convinced that it is essential to encourage the prevention of possible serious consequences of asthma and offer concrete help to people with inadequately controlled disease, giving them the opportunity to carry out free specialist advice for control and re-evaluation and to receive useful advice for the management of asthma. ‘asthma”. The goal is to encourage patients to carry out an assessment of their condition at a specialist centre; in fact, in previous editions several people were re-evaluated and placed in the correct therapeutic path. “Criteria for determining whether asthma is uncontrolled include use of short-acting β2-agonist bronchodilators (SABAs) more than 2 times per week and even intermittent use of oral corticosteroids (OCS). for the management of exacerbations – explains Paola Rogliani, Professor of Diseases of the Respiratory System, University of Rome Tor Vergata of Rome -. SABAs do not act on airway inflammation and their regular or frequent use is associated with an increased risk of exacerbations and even mortality. However, many patients continue to abuse and parallel underuse of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). In Italy, for example, 32 per cent of patients use a quantity of SABA considered “at risk”, very often without a prescription».

Severe asthma affects up to 10 percent of asthma patients, absorbing approximately 50-80 percent of total asthma resources. The impact is relevant and is often under-diagnosed, due to an incorrect and late approach. “Like many parents, family members and caregivers, we have experienced a long uncertainty about the diagnosis and the psychological and emotional fatigue of not feeling capable of preventing or managing the suffering of the sick loved one – explains Simona Barbaglia, president of the Respiriamo Insieme Association and mother caregiver of a teenager with severe asthma — we also experienced the social isolation of circumstances and the repercussions on working life. All this prompted us to found an association that could provide information and support patients and family members in the management of this disease”.

In Italy over 60-64 percent of patients with severe asthma are treated with oral corticosteroids and this exposes them to the risk of serious side effects such as diabetes, osteoporosis, cataracts, obesity, cerebrovascular and heart disease and causes a decrease in quality of life , but it also has a high social cost; in fact, it has been calculated that the cost of managing related pathologies in patients with severe asthma amounts to approximately 40 million euros a year. «Given the strong impact of the use of OCS, one of the priority objectives should be to reduce their use up to their elimination – underlines Giorgio Walter Canonica, Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Humanitas University, Milan -. Thanks to the availability of the class of biological drugs or monoclonal antibodies, which interrupt the inflammatory processes of asthma, it is now an achievable goal, guaranteeing a decrease in exacerbations, symptom control and a better quality of life”. These drugs act on specific mediators, in the diagnostic process of severe asthma it is necessary to identify the pathophysiological, inflammatory and clinical characteristics of each patient, so that the doctor can personalize the therapeutic strategy. New targeted treatment options now make it possible to speak of asthma remission. «Today it is a pragmatic and achievable goal, understood as prolonged absence of symptoms and exacerbations, stabilization of lung function and no need for systemic corticosteroids for the treatment of the disease. However, in the context of severe asthma, the concept of “remission” must be understood differently than in asthma in general, as it currently appears difficult for a patient with severe asthma to be well controlled once all therapy has been discontinued , including biological drugs – Canonica specifies -. However, being able to talk about disease remission and having therapeutic options that potentially allow it to be achieved also has an important implication in the dialogue between doctor and patient».