San Francisco—A paradigm shift has occurred over the past four decades in the treatment of asthma, a disease that during that time has increased in prevalence worldwide, particularly in urban areas of the industrialized West.
This change reflects a greater understanding of the pathophysiology of asthma. Once considered a disease of reversible bronchoconstriction, asthma is now considered a chronic inflammatory disease with the potential to cause irreversible deterioration of pulmonary function. Anti-inflammatory agents, inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) chief among them, have become mainstays of asthma therapy.
Attendees at the October meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians discussed the limitations of current therapy for allergic asthma and considered therapies on the horizon. Some promising data were reported from several phase 3 clinical trials of a recombinant monoclonal antibody against immunoglobulin E (IgE).
BLOCKING IGE
Patients with atopic disease produce IgE antibodies in response to . . . [Full Text of this Article]
