{
  "id": 4868923,
  "title": "Severe asthma remains active in most despite widespread biologic treatment",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/severe-asthma-remains-active-in-most-despite-widespread-biologic",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-01T14:00:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-severe-asthma-widespread-biologic-treatment.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Severe asthma affects a significant portion of the 5%–10% of people worldwide with the condition, causing recurrent exacerbations, poor lung function, and reliance on corticosteroids. Recent advancements in biologic therapies have expanded the range of treatment options for many patients. In a recent study analyzing data from 13,455 adults with severe asthma across 22 European countries, researchers found that despite widespread biologic treatment, most patients still exhibited signs of active disease.\n\nOf the patients for whom all four disease domains were assessed, 89% had at least one active domain, with over two-thirds experiencing at least two. Impaired airflow was prevalent, with 62% of the assessable patients showing lung function (FEV1) below 80% of the predicted value. Comorbidities were also common among the patients. Dr. Apostolos Bossios, an associate professor and senior consultant in pulmonary medicine, emphasizes that while biologic therapies have become an essential part of severe asthma treatment, it is insufficient to solely monitor inflammatory markers. Instead, a comprehensive approach is necessary, involving the regular assessment of symptoms, exacerbations, lung function, and comorbidities, particularly those related to corticosteroid use, which should be minimized.\n\nThe study identified a subset of patients—35% of whom had rapidly increasing disease burden—whose condition deteriorated within a decade of initiating biologic therapy. This highlights a critical window of opportunity for early identification of high-risk patients and timely initiation of appropriate treatment before significant irreversible changes occur in the airways. It is important to note that the study is observational and cannot definitively establish a causal relationship between treatment and the observed patterns. The researchers stress the need for follow-up longitudinal studies to further investigate these findings.",
  "summary": "Severe asthma affects around 5%–10% of all people with asthma and can involve recurrent exacerbations, impaired lung function and the need for corticosteroid treatment. In recent years, biologic therapies have improved treatment options for many patients.",
  "key_points": [
    "89% of severe asthma patients had at least one active disease domain despite biologic treatment.",
    "62% of assessable patients showed lung function (FEV1) below 80% of predicted value.",
    "35% of patients experienced rapidly increasing disease burden within a decade of biologic therapy."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}