Emerging therapies for severe asthma

Thomson, N.C., Chaudhuri, R. and Spears, M. (2011) Emerging therapies for severe asthma. BMC Medicine, 9(1), p. 102. (doi: 10.1186/1741-7015-9-102)

Abstract

Many patients with asthma have poorly controlled symptoms, and particularly for those with severe disease, there is a clear need for improved treatments. Two recent therapies licensed for use in asthma are omalizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds circulating IgE antibody, and bronchial thermoplasty, which involves the delivery of radio frequency energy to the airways to reduce airway smooth muscle mass. In addition, there are new therapies under development for asthma that have good potential to reach the clinic in the next five years. These include biological agents targeting proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-5 and interleukin-13, inhaled ultra long-acting beta(2)-agonists and once daily inhaled corticosteroids. In addition, drugs that block components of the arachidonic acid pathway that targets neutrophilic asthma and CRTH2 receptor antagonists that inhibit the proinflammatory actions of prostaglandin D(2) may become available. We review the recent progress made in developing viable therapies for severe asthma and briefly discuss the idea that development of novel therapies for asthma is likely to increasingly involve the assessment of genotypic and/or phenotypic factors

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Thomson, Professor Neil and Spears, Dr Mark and Chaudhuri, Dr Rekha
• Authors: Thomson, N.C., Chaudhuri, R., and Spears, M.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
• Journal Name: BMC Medicine
• ISSN: 1741-7015