Trial reportAmerican journal of respiratory and critical care medicine2014
The effect of inhaled IFN-β on worsening of asthma symptoms caused by viral infections. A randomized trial.
Trial report in American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 151 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
151 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 266 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rhinovirus-Induced Cytokine Alterations With Potential Implications in Asthma Exacerbations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Pooled it
- Phenome-wide association studies across large population cohorts support drug target validation.Nature communications · 2018Pooled it
- Effect of inhaled interferon-β1a on SARS-CoV-2 diversity and evolution.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Trial
- Nebulised interferon beta-1a (SNG001) in the treatment of viral exacerbations of COPD.Respiratory research · 2024Trial
- Safety, Tolerability, Bioavailability, and Biological Activity of Inhaled Interferon-α2b in Healthy Adults: The INClinical drug investigation · 2023Trial
- Allergen Immunotherapy Enhances Airway Epithelial Antiviral Immunity in Patients with Allergic Asthma (VITAL Study): A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Safety and efficacy of inhaled nebulised interferon beta-1a (SNG001) for treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial.The Lancet. Respiratory medicine · 2021Trial
- INEXAS: A Phase 2 Randomized Trial of On-demand Inhaled Interferon Beta-1a in Severe Asthmatics.Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2021Trial
- Decreased expression of type I (IFN-β) and type III (IFN-λ) interferons and interferon-stimulated genes in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with and without nasal polyps.The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology · 2019Trial
- Rhinovirus-16 induced temporal interferon responses in nasal epithelium links with viral clearance and symptoms.Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2019Trial
- Bronchial mucosal IFN-α/β and pattern recognition receptor expression in patients with experimental rhinovirus-induced asthma exacerbations.The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology · 2019Trial
- Enhanced plasmacytoid dendritic cell antiviral responses after omalizumab.The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology · 2018Trial
- Integrating in vitro aerosol characterization and cross-species PBPK modeling to predict human lung exposure of inhaled therapeutic proteins.International journal of pharmaceutics: X · 2026Article
- The rhinovirus puzzle: Linking virus and host factors to childhood asthma.The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology · 2026Review
- Bronchial epithelial transcriptome reveals dysregulated interferon and inflammatory responses to rhinovirus in exacerbation-prone pediatric asthma.JCI insight · 2025Article
- Inhaled biologics for respiratory diseases: clinical potential and emerging technologies.Drug delivery and translational research · 2025Review
- Transcriptomic Profiling of Bronchial Epithelium Reveals Dysregulated Interferon and Inflammatory Responses to Rhinovirus in Exacerbation-Prone Pediatric Asthma.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Unraveling the mechanisms of virus-induced asthma exacerbation: epithelial injury, immune dysregulation, and novel interventions.Chinese medical journal pulmonary and critical care medicine · 2025Review
- Asthma Phenotypes and Biomarkers.Respiratory care · 2025Review
91 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 10 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleEx vivo, bronchial epithelial cells from people with asthma are more susceptible to rhinovirus infection caused by deficient induction of the antiviral protein, IFN-β. Exogenous IFN-β restores antiviral activity.
objectivesTo compare the efficacy and safety of inhaled IFN-β with placebo administered to people with asthma after onset of cold symptoms to prevent or attenuate asthma symptoms caused by respiratory viruses.
methodsA total of 147 people with asthma on inhaled corticosteroids (British Thoracic Society Steps 2-5), with a history of virus-associated exacerbations, were randomized to 14-day treatment with inhaled IFN-β (n = 72) or placebo (n = 75) within 24 hours of developing cold symptoms and were assessed clinically, with relevant samples collected to assess virus infection and antiviral responses. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN
resultsA total of 91% of randomized patients developed a defined cold. In this modified intention-to-treat population, asthma symptoms did not get clinically significantly worse (mean change in six-item Asthma Control Questionnaire <0.5) and IFN-β treatment had no significant effect on this primary endpoint, although it enhanced morning peak expiratory flow recovery (P = 0.033), reduced the need for additional treatment, and boosted innate immunity as assessed by blood and sputum biomarkers. In an exploratory analysis of the subset of more difficult-to-treat, Step 4-5 people with asthma (n = 27 IFN-β; n = 31 placebo), Asthma Control Questionnaire-6 increased significantly on placebo; this was prevented by IFN-β (P = 0.004).
conclusionsAlthough the trial did not meet its primary endpoint, it suggests that inhaled IFN-β is a potential treatment for virus-induced deteriorations of asthma in difficult-to-treat people with asthma and supports the need for further, adequately powered, trials in this population. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT 01126177).
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.