Current trends in asthma therapy

Abstract

Asthma is a clinical syndrome recognized as chronic inflammatory condition of the airways that requires early pharmacological treatment and long-term management. Inhaled corticosteroids as anti-inflammatory agents are considered to be the first-line prophylactic treatment for patients with persistent asthma. For patients with a more severe disease and whose asthma is not fully controlled with daily dose of inhaled corticosteroid, therapeutic options advocate adding a long-acting inhaled beta2-agonist therapy, rather than an increase in the dose of inhaled corticosteroids. This therapeutic procedure improves the lung function and quality of life of asthmatic patients and reduces the number of exacerbations of asthma. Taking into account complementary effects and beta2-agonists of inhaled corticosteroids, the combination of these medicines in the same inhaler device has recently been introduced. Two such combinations: salmeterol/fluticasone (Seretide, Glaxo Wellcome) and budesonide/formoterol (Symbicort, Astra Zeneca) have been shown in clinical studies to be very effective in controlling asthma. It has been shown that budesonide/formoterol combination has a faster onset of bronchodilation than salmeterol/fluticasone.