The potential for
rimiterol to protect athletes from
exercise-induced asthma (EIA) has not been fully established. Ten athletes with
asthma (15 to 30 years of age) undertook 8 minutes of submaximal exercise (80% of anaerobic threshold) on the treadmill ergometer, once after inhaling
rimiterol and once after inhaling a placebo. Treatment with all
bronchodilator drugs was stopped for the 12 hours preceding each exercise test. Two puffs (400 micrograms) of
rimiterol or placebo were administered in a double-blind crossover manner 2 minutes before each exercise test. Lung function measurements were made before exercise and immediately, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 minutes after completion of exercise. The results of a two-way analysis of variance revealed significant (p less than 0.01) difference in the FEV1 scores obtained after
rimiterol inhalation and placebo inhalation, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 minutes after cessation of exercise. After inhalation of
rimiterol, there were no significant changes in FEV1. After inhaling the placebo, significant reductions (p less than 0.01) in FEV1 occurred after cessation of exercise (5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes). All subjects exhibited EIA after placebo, and none after
rimiterol. The mean maximum drop after exercise in FEV1 after inhalation of
rimiterol (2.807 +/- 5.55) and placebo (24.54 +/- 8.4) was significantly different (t = 6.849). It was concluded that inhalation of
rimiterol 2 minutes before exercise afforded significant protection from EIA in all subjects tested.