Clin Chest Med. 2006 Mar;27(1):133-47, vii.

Biologic therapies for the treatment of asthma.

Wagelie-Steffen AL, Kavanaugh AF, Wasserman SI.

Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0637, USA.

Asthma is a chronic disease of the airway whose pathogenesis involves the complex interplay between many cell types and inflammatory mediators. The mainstays of therapy, inhaled bronchodilators and corticosteroids, do not target the asthmatic airway specifically and therefore are associated with untoward side effects. Anti-IgE (omalizumab) is the only biologic therapy to have transitioned completely from bench to bedside. Other candidate therapies, such as those that alter the T-helper 1/T-helper 2 cytokine balance, interfere with inflammatory cell trafficking, or modify normal intracellular signaling cascades involved in inflammatory gene transcription, have had only limited success in human clinical trials. This article describes several potential novel biologic therapies that have been or could be investigated.

Publication Types:
Review

PMID: 16543058 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Full Article Available Online

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