Interferon Therapy May Endanger Asthma Patients

Those of us who have been involved in the study of nutrition for any length of time are aware that getting one’s body to stimulate its own immune enhancement is far safer than the offering of isolated substances that supposedly match immune components.

Patients who have had their asthma under control, but have been taking interferon for the suppression of hepatitis C, have suffered enough to be hospitalized for the return of asthma symptoms. Hepatitis C therapy with interferon-alpha can lead to severe asthma exacerbation in patients with previously mild asthma. Interferon-alpha therapy has previously been associated with pulmonary complications, and now we have evidence of asthma exacerbation as well. (Mayo Clinic Proceedings 1999; 74:367-370)