Blood Pressure Drug Useful in Cystic Fibrosis

Use of a common high blood pressure medicine as a nasal spray appears to slow the life-threatening lung damage that cystic fibrosis causes, and could dramatically improve the lives of people who have the frequently inherited disorder.

The conclusions were drawn from a preliminary study of the drug amiloride.

The medicine, when inhaled, seemed to help clear the secretions that clog the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. It reduced the loss of lung capacity by 60% when compared to a dummy treatment.

Cystic fibrosis afflicts about one in 2,500 babies born in the United States. Most die before they reach their mid-20s, and almost all the deaths are from lung disease.

An inherited abnormality in people with cystic fibrosis causes the cells that line the air tubes in their lungs to absorb too much salt and water. This produces a thick mucous that blocks the lungs and makes patients prone to infections and breathing problems.

Amiloride, a diuretic, appears to work by reducing the lung cells’ absorption of salt and water.

In the study, doctors tried the treatment on adults whose lungs were already seriously damaged by years of infection. No one has tried it yet on youngsters whose lungs are still relatively healthy, but researchers hope it will significantly change the course of their illness.

“Our fantasy is that it could be much more useful if given early in life, over the long haul,” said Dr. Michael R. Knowles, a developer of the treatment at the University of North Carolina. A report on his initial study, conducted on 14 adults, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine today.