Triple combination therapy brings lasting improvement in cystic fibrosis, shows study (Elexacaftor, tezacaftor, and ivacaftor = 12+ month symptom remission)

Medical Xpress / Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin / European Respiratory Journal ^ | July 7, 2023 | Laura Schaupp et al

[ConservativeMind]

The mucus in the airways is not as sticky, and inflammation in the lungs is significantly reduced: Triple combination therapy can achieve these positive, lasting effects in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Researchers have just recently published their findings. According to their research, this form of medication improves the symptoms of CF in many patients.

Two years ago, a research group showed that combination therapy involving three drugs—elexacaftor, tezacaftor, and ivacaftor—is effective in a large portion of patients with cystic fibrosis, a hereditary disease, meaning that the treatment noticeably improves both lung function and quality of life.

Now, the team has investigated for the first time whether this form of treatment is also helpful in the long term, meaning over a period of 12 months or more. To examine this, the researchers took a closer look at the sputum, the secretions from patients' respiratory tracts.

"In patients with cystic fibrosis, the mucus in the airways is very sticky because it doesn't contain enough water and the mucins, the molecules that form mucus, adhere too much due to their chemical properties. This results in thick, sticky mucus, which clogs the airways, making it harder for patients to breathe and leading to chronic bacterial infection and inflammation of the lungs," explains Mall.

In the current study, the researchers show that a combination of elexacaftor, tezacaftor, and ivacaftor results in less viscous respiratory secretions and decreasing inflammation and bacterial infection in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients.

"What's more, the effects lasted over the entire one-year study period. This is really important because previous medications caused a rebound in the bacterial load in the airways," explains Dr. Simon Gräber.

A major step in treating cystic fibrosis, further research important "This is a major step forward in treating cystic fibrosis," Mall says.

[ConservativeMind]

This is available as a therapy in one drug called “Trikafta.”

[ConservativeMind]

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