FLUTICASONE CLAIMS QUESTIONED

Glaxo subsidiary Allen & Hambury's inhaled steroid Flixonase (fluticasone propionate) has a worse safety profile and is no more clinically effective than beclamethasone dipropionate, according to a study conducted by the Research Council of the Norwegian Thoracic Society.

The three-month study involved 134 moderate to severe asthmatics who were administered either 1.6mg of BDP or 2mg of fluticasone, and measured the effects of the drugs on lung function, serum cortisol and ACTH.

Over the study period, mean plasma cortisol and ACTH levels fell significantly (indicating suppression of the hypothalmic-pituitary-adrenal axis) in the fluticasone-treated group but not in the BDP arm. Mean cortisol levels at three months were 226nmol/L in the fluticasone treated patients and 380nmol/L for the BDP group. However, the study notes that there were no significant differences in lung function and symptom scores between the two groups. The findings are surprising, say the researchers, in view of the claims that fluticasone is safer and more effective than BDP.