Researchers in Chicago want asthma patients for a study on whether vitamin D pills can make inhaled steroids work better.

The research may help answer why inhaled steroids alone don’t work in some people with asthma. It could be that people with low levels of vitamin D don’t respond as well to the drugs. The study aims to examine whether adding vitamin D could fix that.

Dr. Lewis Smith at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University’s Feinberg medical school is lead investigator. He says the possibility that improving treatment might be as easy as taking a vitamin is exciting.

The study is part of asthma research involving the University of Chicago, Rush University Medical Center and Children’s Memorial Hospital.

Adults aged 18 and up can participate. For details, call 312-926-0975.