Current medical research and opinion
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Asthma remains a formidable public health problem with ever increasing annual costs and prevalence. There are 300 million people with asthma worldwide. Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are over 25 million Americans with asthma (both children and adults), i.e. one in 12 people have asthma, and this is increasing annually. ⋯ Therefore, we need novel and innovative therapies for asthma. In this Editorial, I review results from a study by Tse et al. evaluating the therapeutic potential of statins, within the context of our current state of knowledge. I review observational studies and clinical trials, highlight some potential pitfalls in clinical trial design, and discuss important questions for future research.
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Editorial Comment
Treatment of breakthrough cancer pain: to titrate or to proportionate?
Breakthrough cancer pain can be treated effectively by rapid-onset opioids, such as sublingual fentanyl. However, it remained unclear how the optimal dose of sublingual fentanyl should be determined. Dosing proportional to basic opioid regimen is now proposed as an alternative to dose titration.
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Editorial Comment
Treatment of depression: are we finally on the right track?