Press Releases

IQAir Selected for World’s Most Comprehensive Clinical Asthma Trial

Many air cleaner manufacturers make claims about the benefits of their devices for allergy and asthma sufferers. Unfortunately, they only have anecdotal evidence or commissioned research papers to sup port their claims.

In a unprecedented move to find out the true effects of advanced allergen control measures on allergy and asthma sufferers, some of Europe’s most respected allergy and asthma research specialists, are currently conducting the most compre-hensive clinical trial ever.

The trial investigates the clinical effects of using high-performance air cleaners (alone and in combination with allergen proof bed encasings) on asthmatic children and adolescents with dog or cat allergy.

IQAir® devices have been selected as the sole air cleaner brand for this groundbreaking study, due to their superior air cleaning performance.

Eighty patients from Germany and Norway are participating in this project. The participants are children and adolescents between 7 and 17 years of age who suffer from bronchial asthma and are allergic to dog or cat allergens. House dust mite allergy sufferers were excluded from the study.

The patients were randomly divided into four groups:

1. The cover group: Patients with active encasings and placebo air cleaners.
2. The air cleaner group: Patients with placebo encasings and active air cleaners.
3. The combination group: Patients with active encasings and active air cleaners.
4. The placebo group: Patients with placebo encasings and placebo air cleaners.

To give the patients the maximum benefit form clean air exposure, the air cleaning devices have been placed in both, the bedroom and the living room of the patients’ homes.

The trial is of the highest scientific significance because it is both placebo controlled and doubleblind. Placebo controlled means that both, working and dummy air cleaners and encasings will be used. Double-blind means that neither patients nor researches know which patients have placebo air cleaners and encasings and which patients have functioning items. This clinical trial design ensures that the psychosomatic element (i.e. patients getting better because they believe in the usefulness of the items), can be ruled out.

The trial started in December 1999 and will continue until March in 2001.

The project has been set up and is being conducted by the following researchers:

Dr. Leif Rolfsjord and Prof. Dr. Sten Dreborg of Central Hospital of Hedmark, Norway.

Dr. Susanne Lau and Prof. Dr. Ulrich Wahn of Charité Virchow Klinikum, Berlin.

If the trial results support a clinical benefit to patients, it will pave the way for high-performance air cleaners being acknowledged as “prescription” items which are covered by health insurance funding the same way as bedding encasings are already funded by health insurances in virtually all European countries. Endorsement from allergy and asthma associations is also likely to follow.

About IQAir North America, Inc.
IQAir North America, Inc. is a member of the Swiss-based IQAir Group that develops, manufactures and markets innovative air quality products for indoor environments. With more than 45 years experience in the design and manufacturing of ultra-high efficiency air purification systems, IQAir offers complete clean air solutions for a wide range of applications, including residential, offices, schools, hospitals and other critical environments. IQAir’s innovation stems from its research, development and manufacturing conducted completely in-house. This approach has led to products and solutions which set new standards in performance, purity and quality. IQAir is the exclusive educational partner for the air purifier industry for the American Lung Association. IQAir products have earned the Best Buy recommendations of Consumers Digest, Consumers Guide, Reviewboard Magazine, Consumer Search, as well as the top recommendation of the prestigious German government product testing organization, Stiftung Warentest. IQAir North America, Inc. headquarters is located at 10440 Ontiveros Place, Santa Fe Springs, CA, 90670. Phone (562) 903-7600; Fax (562) 236-9229; Internet www.iqair.com.

IQAir North America, Inc., IQAir and the IQAir logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of IQAir Group or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. All other third party marks mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright © 2000 IQAir Group/IQAir North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved.