FRIDAY, July 28 (HealthDay News) -- A single oral dose of montelukast helps prevent exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) within two hours after administration and continues to offer protection for up to 24 hours, according to study findings published in the July issue of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
David Pearlman, M.D., of Colorado Allergy and Asthma Centers in Denver, and colleagues studied 51 adult asthma patients with EIB, who received either montelukast or a placebo and underwent exercise challenges after two, 12 and 24 hours.
At two, 12, and 24 hours after dosing, the researchers found that the montelukast group experienced maximum decreases in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) of 10.8, 8.4 and 8.3 percent, respectively, compared to 22.3, 16.1 and 16.9 percent, respectively, in the placebo group. They also found that the montelukast group had faster post-exercise recovery times and less need to use a beta-agonist rescue inhaler than the placebo group.
"This study is the first, to our knowledge, to evaluate the effect of a single dose of an oral agent for acute prevention of EIB throughout 24 hours in adults with asthma," the authors write.
The study was funded by a grant from Merck Research Laboratories.
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