Ibuprofen May Aid Cystic Fibrosis Lungs
Taking Ibuprofen May Slow Lung Function Decline in Children With Cystic Fibrosis
By
Miranda Hitti
WebMD Health News
Reviewed By
Louise Chang, MD
Nov. 30, 2007 -- Ibuprofen, a drug that fights
inflammation, may help the lungs of children with cystic fibrosis.
Cystic fibrosis is the most common fatal genetic disease in the U.S., notes the
National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The NIH explains that cystic fibrosis causes the body to produce thick,
sticky mucus that clogs the lungs, leads to infection, and blocks the pancreas,
which stops digestive enzymes from reaching the intestine where they are needed
to digest food.
A new study shows that among children and teens with cystic fibrosis, lung function declined more
slowly in those taking ibuprofen.
Data came from more than 10,000 U.S. children and teens aged 6-17 with
cystic fibrosis.
The group included 1,365 children who took ibuprofen for at least three
years. The rest of the children didn't report regular ibuprofen use.
The patients were followed for seven years. During that time, lung function
declined for all of the patients, but the rate of decline was 29% slower for
patients taking ibuprofen.
Ibuprofen can cause gastrointestinal bleeding. In the cystic fibrosis study,
such problems were rare but more
common among patients taking ibuprofen.
The benefits of taking ibuprofen outweighed the risks of gastrointestinal
bleeding, write the researchers, who included Michael Konstan, MD, of
Cleveland's Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.
Ibuprofen is sold without prescription. But Konstan and colleagues don't
make specific recommendations about what dose (if any) might be best for
patients with cystic fibrosis.
Such decisions should be made by consulting with a doctor familiar with the
patient's case -- not on a do-it-yourself basis.
The study appears in tomorrow's edition of the American Journal of
Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
SOURCES: Konstan, M. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care
Medicine, Dec. 1, 2007; vol 176: pp 1084-1089. National Human Genome
Research Institute, National Institutes of Health: "Learning About Cystic
Fibrosis." News release, American Thoracic Society.
© 2007 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.
Lungs RSS