Pharmacology and Therapeutics of Asthma

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2023) | Viewed by 1230

Special Issue Editor

Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City 22000, Taiwan
Interests: asthma; biological agents; inhaler agents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Asthma is a heterogeneous respiratory disease characterized by usually reversible bronchial obstruction, which is clinically expressed by different phenotypes and endotypes. Recently, several molecular effectors have emerged as suitable targets for the biological treatment of severe asthma, refractory to standard treatments. These biological agents include pro-allergic immunoglobulin E (IgE), which chronologically represents the first molecule against which an anti-asthma monoclonal antibody (omalizumab) was developed. Today, other targets are successfully exploited in the biological treatment of severe asthma. Pro-eosinophilic interleukin 5 (IL-5) can be targeted by mepolizumab or reslizumab, whereas benralizumab is a selective blocker of IL-5 receptors. In particular, dupilumab behaves as a dual-receptor antagonist of pleiotropic interleukins 4 (IL-4) and 13 (IL-13). Besides these drugs, which are already available in medical practice, other biologics are under clinical development, such as those targeting innate cytokines, including the alarmin thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), which plays a key role in the pathogenesis of type 2 asthma. Therefore, ongoing and future biological therapies are significantly changing the global scenario of severe asthma management. In this Special Issue, focused on the pharmacology and therapeutics of asthma, the focus is on the implementation of phenotype/endotype-specific treatments, delineating personalized approaches to precisely address the individual traits of asthma pathobiology.

Dr. Shih-Lung Cheng
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • asthma
  • biological agents
  • phenotypes
  • endotypes
  • IgE
  • IL-5
  • IL-4
  • IL-13
  • TSLP

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 772 KiB  
Article
Comprehensive Observational Study in a Large Cohort of Asthma Patients after Adding LAMA to ICS/LABA
by Vicente Plaza, Javier Domínguez-Ortega, Diego González-Segura Alsina, Daniele Lo Re and Antoni Sicras-Mainar
Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16(11), 1609; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph16111609 - 14 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1014
Abstract
Introduction: Adding LAMA to LABA/ICS is recommended to improve control in patients with persistent asthma. Methods: This observational, retrospective, before-and-after study considered patients diagnosed with asthma who started LABA/ICS + LAMA treatment (triple therapy, TT) between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2018 [...] Read more.
Introduction: Adding LAMA to LABA/ICS is recommended to improve control in patients with persistent asthma. Methods: This observational, retrospective, before-and-after study considered patients diagnosed with asthma who started LABA/ICS + LAMA treatment (triple therapy, TT) between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2018 and had been treated with LABA/ICS (dual therapy, DT) in the year before. Changes in lung function and exacerbation rates, healthcare resource utilization, and healthcare and non-healthcare costs (€2019) were estimated in patients with asthma in clinical practices in Spain. Data from computerized medical records from seven Spanish regions were collected ±1 year of LAMA addition. Results: 4740 patients (64.1 years old [SD: 16.3]) were included. TT reduced the incidence of exacerbations by 16.7% (p < 0.044) and the number of patients with exacerbations by 8.5% (p < 0.001) compared to previous DT. The rate of patients with severe exacerbations requiring systemic corticosteroids and their hospitalization rates significantly decreased by 22.5% and 29.5%. TT significantly improved FEV1, FVC, and FEV1/FVC, saving €571/patient for society. Younger patients with asthma (18–44 years old) and patients with severe asthma (FEV1 < 60%) performed better upon the initiation of TT. Conclusions: TT reduced asthma exacerbations, improved lung function and reduced healthcare costs vs. DT, particularly in patients requiring systemic corticosteroids to treat severe exacerbations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmacology and Therapeutics of Asthma)
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