Asthma - randomised controlled trial - Interview

You are listening to a Radio interview between Dr Robert Cowie & Barnett J. Weiss (Bud) New York City Radio WBAI (21st October 2010) The show talked about the Buteyko Breathing method.

A world authority on Asthma Dr. Robert Cowie from the University of Calgary, Canada who was the organiser of the randomised controlled trial of the Buteyko technique as an adjunct to conventional management of asthma. Resp Med 2008; 102:726-32.
Buteyko Calgary Trial Conclusions: Buteyko safe, effective and no adverse effects.
In the Buteyko Calgary Trial: The Buteyko method was taught by Jennifer Stark from Australia

Buteyko Interview transcript

Interview transcrit between Dr. Robert Cowie and Barnett J Weiss. (Bud) New York City radio (WBAI) 21/10/2010 

The Buteyko breathing Method.

Barnett J. Weiss (Bud)
New York

Bud Weiss

Hi Dr. Cowie, thanks for being available so early, I think where you are it’s about 6.30or so, 6.30 yes.(laughter)

Dr. Robert Cowie

(laughter) 6.30 yes (laughter)

Bud Weiss

Thanks so much for being up, So why don’t you just tell us your experience with Buteyko and what your thoughts are of it being an adjunct to all Asthma treatment?

Dr. Robert Cowie

Well thank you, yes. My opinion about Buteyko is based on the study we did here at the university of Calgary, and it was published earlier this year in the British journal of society medicine, and in that study we took approx 120 subjects who had Asthma and who were on conventional treatment, and it turns out that about 40% of those people, tho’ they were on what is accepted to be conventional and appropriate treatment for Asthma, and had their disease under control, in other words 60% or the majority of them were still suffering from their Asthma attacks which led them to emergency departments, with waking at night and shortness of breath and having some aspects of their everyday lives impacted by Asthma. 

We took this group of people, and randomly divided them into roughly two, and ½ of them were then subjected to the Buteyko technique by an experienced Buteyko practitioner, who we invited to come in from Australia to train this group.

Cutting the chase, the program lasted approx 5 days which is the usual for Buteyko. What we did was we got back to these people, these and the control group 6 months after they had completed their Buteyko training. So a good period afterward, then examined them to find out weather they were out of or well controlled, and it turned out that 6 months after the Buteyko intervention 80% of them 75% of them had their Asthma well controlled. So we’ve doubled the number who had diseases controlled, and in the Buteyko group this has been achieved with some reduction in medication. So we thought, I thought that that was a very good result and shows there clearly is a role for Buteyko training and people with Asthma on conventional therapy who have not achieved good control of their disease. It seems there may be a place for anyone with Asthma if it’s going to allow them to achieve control with having a smaller dose of conventional medication. 

Bud Weiss

Well Dr. Cowie, I just want to thank you ‘cause those who really want to find out, Dr. Cowie has been doing work in the field of respiratory medicine for, how many years now Dr. Cowie?

Dr. Robert Cowie

(laughter) Oh you really don’t want to know that.

At least round it off to 40.

Bud Weiss

(laughter) OK.

These papers and all of the things he has done are easily accessible on the internet, if you goggle Dr. Cowie’s name, Dr. Robert Cowie, you will see how extraordinary a man this is who has done such great work in the field, and we are just so thankful that you became involved with this.

Mr. Bernard White

Dr. Cowie, I have a question for you. You’ve been in medicine for 40 years, when did you come across Buteyko and how did it become to change your mind?

Dr. Robert Cowie

Well, it happened I guess…A man who had Asthma for much of his life had gone off to New York from Calgary, quite a way to go, and had been trained by a Buteyko practitioner, and as a result was really very very pleased with the impact on his Asthma. And he came from a fairly wealthy local family, so he and his family approached the faculty of Medicine at the university of Calgary and said would they be interested in starting and holding a Buteyko program. So the Deans office contacted me, and I said “Well were jumping the gun, we really need to, first of all, find out if it works or not”

Bud Weiss

Well folks that was Dr. Robert Cowie, one of the worlds authorities on respiratory illness, who did the study that so amazed him that he...

Transcribed by Jacqui Lattenstein