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Joan Stephenson, PhD

JAMA. 2000;284:296.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Should adults with mild asthma whose symptoms occur more than occasionally take anti-inflammatory medications on a daily basis? That's a question that the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) hopes will be answered by a new 2-year study, the Improving Asthma Control Trial.

The study will involve 234 adults with mild persistent asthma who will be randomized to receive a twice-daily inhaled corticosteroid, a twice-daily antileukotriene, or a placebo. All patients will be treated for any asthma symptoms that occur.

"This study has major implications for the long-term health of these patients," said NHLBI director Claude Lenfant, MD. "We know that daily inflammatory therapy has benefits, but we don't know whether daily use is really necessary for people with mild asthma."

Daily treatment of all patients with mild persistent asthma would cost an estimated $2 billion.

Study sites include Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston; Harlem Lung . . . [Full Text of this Article]