Apieron, Inc. highlighted recent clinical panel presentations underscoring the positive impact of measuring exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) for treating asthma in adults and children. The company also cited recognition that design and methodology issues led to mixed results in some randomized trials of eNO-guided therapy. Apieron develops and markets non-invasive monitors that measure exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) for better asthma management.
At the American Thoracic Society’s recent annual meeting, panelists in a session titled “Understanding Exhaled Nitric Oxide Gas Exchange” reported that adopters of eNO measurement have seen a significantly positive impact in treatment of adults and children, and that numerous academic studies support these clinical observations. The panelists also concurred with a paper by Prof. P.G. Gibson, University of Newcastle in Australia, outlining the limitations present in the design and methodology of ASthma TReatment ALgorithm (ASTRAL) studies and suggested design features for future studies. These design features, Dr. Gibson concludes in his paper, “should improve study performance and aid in obtaining a better estimate of eNO-guided asthma therapy.” Clinical & Experimental Allergy published the paper, “Using fractional exhaled nitric oxide to guide asthma therapy: design and methodological issues for ASthma TReatment ALgorithm studies,” in its April 2009 issue. An abstract is available here.
“eNO measurement needs to be an integral part of asthma treatment, and we look forward to stronger studies and practice guidelines for eNO to bring this important marker into mainstream practice,” said Bhairavi Parikh, PhD, Apieron Founder and Chief Technology Officer. “In clinical practice, adopters of eNO monitoring have reported that eNO is predictive of asthma in patients with normal lung function, predictive of lack of compliance with proscribed therapy, and predictive of response to steroids.”
The American Thoracic Society is presently developing guidelines for eNO monitoring.
The panel was held at the American Thoracic Society’s 2009 Annual Meeting in San Diego, on Wednesday, May 20, 2009. Details on the panel are available here.
About the Insight eNO System
The Insight eNO System has been available for use in the physician’s office since March 2008. The system uses a proprietary biosensor technology to measure exhaled nitric oxide, a well established indicator of asthma severity and steroid responsive airway inflammation. Measuring eNO and determining the level of airway inflammation can help clinicians more closely manage their patients’ inflammatory condition and therefore more precisely titrate medications, which can lead to fewer exacerbations.
About Apieron Inc.
Apieron Inc. is a private, venture-backed medical device company based in Menlo Park, CA that was formed in early 2001 to develop a simple-to-use, non-invasive monitor for the measurement of exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) for the management of asthma. The Apieron biosensor technology platform utilizes a patented technology that allows for the highly sensitive detection of selected analytes like eNO. Apieron is committed to collaborating with physicians and patients to develop innovative medical solutions to improve quality of life and standards of care.
