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A biodegradable coating for asthma drugs may mean sufferers won’t have to use
their inhalers so often. The polymer coating, which dissolves in hours, covers
inhaled glucocorticoids, which reduce the inflammation that can trigger lung
spasms during an attack. While asthmatics use drugs such as Ventolin to rapidly
open up their airways, glucocorticoids must be taken for days to weeks before
their effects kick in. In experiments on rats, Guenther Hochhaus and his
colleagues at the University of Florida found that coated glucocorticoids stayed
in the lungs much longer so the drug kept on working. And as less of the drug
leaked into the bloodstream, there were fewer side effects.