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LIKE MOST TWO-YEAR OLDS, REID WEICHMANN LOVES TO RUN AND PLAY. AND HE TRIES HIS BEST TO KEEP UP WITH HIS BIG BROTHER AND SISTER. BUT REID IS FIGHTING AN UPHILL BATTLE THAT OFTEN HAS HIM SIDELINED.

Trever Weichmann
Reid's Father
"You could tell he'd get frustrated. He'd have to sit down more and catch his breath."

REID HAS SEVERE BOUTS WITH WHEEZING AND IS AT HIGH RISK FOR ASTHMA.

Trever Weichmann
"It'd almost scare us because it almost seemed to almost stop his breathing completely.

A NORMAL AIRWAY IS OPEN MAKING BREATHING EASY. FOR PEOPLE WITH ASTHMA, THERE'S INFLAMMATION AND MUCUS BUILD-UP.

Mark Moss, M.D.
Allergist/Immunologist
University of Wisconsin Hospital
Madison, WI
"The current thought is that inflammation that goes uncontrolled causes changes to the airways."

THAT'S WHY DOCTORS LIKE MARK MOSS ARE TRYING TO INTERVENE EARLY.

Mark Moss, M.D.
"We may prevent some of these changes from occurring long-term, and a patient will hopefully have normal airways when they're older."

IN HIS STUDY, CHILDREN AT RISK FOR ASTHMA WILL USE AN INHALER TWICE A DAY FOR TWO YEARS. WHILE THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND OR LIKE IT NOW, THE LONG-TERM BENEFITS MAY BE WORTH A LITTLE STRUGGLE.

Trever Weichmann
"When you have kids and it's like you want them to be perfectly healthy, and all of a sudden one's got asthma, it's really frustrating. That's why you do whatever you can to help them out."

THE STUDY IS TAKING PLACE AT FIVE CENTERS AROUND THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, NATIONAL JEWISH, U-C SAN DIEGO, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, AND UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN. CHILDREN IN THE STUDY ARE TREATED WITH LOW-DOSES OF THE COMMONLY USED MEDICATION FLOVENT.

According to the Childhood Asthma Foundation, the disease is the number one cause of emergency room visits and the leading cause of missed school days, totaling 10 million absences annually. Childhood asthma is often misdiagnosed because symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath and coughing can be confused with those of respiratory infections. After a diagnosis, medications such as inhalers or pills may be prescribed. Inhalers, such as the bronchodilator, work by opening airways, while some pills block the action of asthma-causing chemicals.

HOPES FOR PREVENTION: Toddlers can be put at a high risk for developing asthma in their childhood if they have risk factors such as multiple wheezing episodes, allergies and having a parent who has asthma. By identifying these high-risk children and treating them at an early age, researchers hope to curb the development of the disease in later years. Researchers think prescribing low doses of a common asthma medication, Flovent, will lead to the improvement of asthma symptoms. Ultimately, they hope the treatment will prevent or decrease the children's development of the disease.

Mark Moss, M.D., of the University of Wisconsin Hospital, says, "Children that are at risk to progress to develop asthma if treated at an early age, may not go on to develop asthma Ö Any time you can intervene at an early stage and prevent a disease from getting worse you're going to save not only financial costs but also hardship for the patient."

THE STUDY: The study is part of the CARE network, the Childhood Asthma Research and Education network, and is funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Researchers want to enroll 280 children between the ages of 2 years and 4 years from around the country. For two years, doctors will prescribe inhaled corticosteroids, which reduce airway inflammation and are inhaled twice a day through a mask and spacer device. Because many doctors believe inflammation that goes uncontrolled causes negative, permanent changes to the airways, researchers think intervention at a young age may help prevent the development of asthma.

LOCATION: The study is being conducted at five centers around the U.S.

• Washington University, St. Louis, MO
• National Jewish, Denver, CO
• University of California at San Diego, San Diego, CA
• University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
• University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information, please contact:
Tim Le Monds
Public Affairs
University of Wisconsin Hospital
635 Science Drive
Madison, WI 53711
608-263-3223
tj.lemonds@hosp.wisc.edu



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