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Bronchodilators combined with sirolimus lead to more stable lung function

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a destructive lung disease that primarily affects women and can lead to respiratory failure. While sirolimus is the treatment of choice for patients who have rapidly progressive LAM disease, some patients do not respond well to this drug. In addition, many patients with LAM use bronchodilators such as beta-agonists to alleviate their asthma-like symptoms. A recent study found improved stabilization of lung function in patients with LAM who received sirolimus in combination with long-acting beta-agonists with short-acting rescue inhalers compared with patients receiving only sirolimus. The findings, which were partly funded by NHLBI, were published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.