Amazingly, a cortisone inhaler (mometasone) was found no better than placebo for a majority of asthma patients in a New England Journal of Medicine study. Follow the link be linked to the study itself and an article about it and more details
An article about the study can be found here. The New England Journal of Medicine study itself can be found here.Patients were divided by whether they had high or low eosinophil levels (a white blood cell) in their sputum. 79% had low eosinophils and for them 2 drugs and placebo worked about the same. This is just one more example of over-dependence on drugs and how vigilance is always necessary to see if the benefits outweigh the risks. Kudos to the authors for a great study!
