Mild Asthmatics May Do Well With Less Medicine

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The number of symptom-free days was similar among all three groups, according to the study.

"If you look at the percent of days free of symptoms, people did well across the board," said Peters, a professor of pediatrics and pulmonary internal medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

Some day, Peters said, the hope is that doctors will be able to look at your genes and know which asthma medication will work best for you.

The second study, done by Italian researchers, compared 455 people with mild asthma randomly selected for one of four groups: one group used a combination medication that included 250 micrograms of inhaled beclomethasone -- another corticosteroid -- and 100 micrograms of albuterol, a short-acting beta agonist, plus a placebo inhalation medication twice daily (as-needed combination therapy); another group used a placebo twice daily, plus 100 micrograms of albuterol as needed (as-needed albuterol therapy); the third group 250 micrograms of beclomethasone twice a day and the use of 100 micrograms albuterol as needed (regular beclomethasone therapy). The final group was the use of a combination inhaler twice a day, plus albuterol as needed (regular combination therapy).

The lung function for those on as-needed combination therapy were slightly higher than those on as-needed albuterol therapy, but the as-needed combination therapy didn't differ much from those receiving regular beclomethasone. This is important, because the as-needed combination group received a lower dose of beclomethasone overall.

And, while inhaled corticosteroids are safe medications with few side effects, a lower dose of medicine would likely be even safer, and Krasnick pointed out that the cost would be lower.

"There may be some patients who can take medications on an as-needed basis, but you have to make sure you know what to do if you start to get into trouble," advised Krasnick.

Peters said, "If you're doing well on twice a day therapy, and you don't mind taking the medication, stick with it. This is still the best option for most. If you have allergic rhinitis, as well as asthma, montelukast is approved for that, and that might be a good reason to try it."