Intermittent Montelukast Compared to Placebo in Children Wheeze

A study compared effectiveness of intermittent montelukast with placebo in reducing wheezing episodes in 1358 children aged 10 months to 5 years and whether genotype determined the patient outcome.

Study authors found that intermittent montelukast only reduced wheezing episodes in children with arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase (ALOX5) gene promoter 5/5, a gene that has previously been associated with a better response to montelukast in adults. There was no correlation with reduced wheezing episodes for children without this specific genotype. Therefore the researchers call for more research into the effects of montelukast in children with this genetic subtype.

Source: Eurekalert