Asthma patients could lead a normal life, completely free from symptoms of the disease, and 'well-controlled and total controlled asthma' is maintainable after it is achieved.
The results of a year-long international study - GOAL (Gaining Optimal Asthma Control) challenge the way patients currently approach or manage asthma, says Professor Eric D. Bateman, professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Delivering his lecture on "aiming for total control in asthma management" at a symposium "From Goal to Asthma Control" at a local hotel here on Saturday, he said that attention must be drawn towards the need for better asthma management on part of doctors and patients alike.
Eric Bateman, who is also one of the leading investigators of the Goal study, maintained that the Goal findings are of paramount importance and serve as a major breakthrough in asthma management. The study establishes the efficacy of a new combination therapy for asthma and illustrates that the globally recognised treatment guidelines for asthma control are 100-percent achievable and a vast majority of asthma patients, currently living with the burden of the disease, can live an almost asthma-free life. The way asthma patients currently treat their disease fall far short of the standard definition of control as defined by the Goal study or the international guidelines for asthma control, he pointed out.