New Asthma treatment - bronchial thermoplasty treatment

A potential breakthrough treatment for asthma sufferers was unveiled today by British scientists - a development watched with significant interest by sufferers in Northern Ireland.

Researchers have found that treating severely affected patients with bronchial thermoplasty, or specially-heated air fed into the lungs, leads to "significant" improvements.

Bronchial thermoplasty, which has been researched for the past few years, delivers thermal energy to the lungs' airway walls, to reduce the tissue that contributes to airway constriction. It is performed under light sedation via a tube that runs through a patient's nose or mouth and into their lungs.