Lung Biology in Health & Disease Volume 139 New and Exploratory Therapeutic Agents for Asthma

Discusses three major classes of asthma therapies-bronchodilators, antiinflammatories, and antiallergics-as well as potential new therapeutic approaches! This comprehensive volume addresses the latest treatment strategies for asthma, keying in on the genetics and molecular biology of asthma and pointing the way toward new, commercially viable therapies. Presents the most up-to-date information available on the genetics, epidemiology, pathology, pharmacology, and pulmonology of asthma. Written by more than 20 leading international experts, New and Exploratory Therapeutic Agents for Asthma ·explores asthma both as incidence of dysfunctional airway smooth muscle and as a disorder of the immune system ·examines the role of monoclonal antibodies in allergy and asthma ·describes functions and pharmacokinetic profiles of bronchodilator 2 agonists, anticholinergics, and inhaled glucocorticosteroids ·investigates the controversy of different types of asthma ·illustrates the connections between clinical symptoms and the immunopathology of eosinophilic inflammation ·assesses prospects for the development of a successful oral anti-inflammatory therapy, an immunomodulator that lowers antigen-specific IgE, an anticytokine compound, and an agent that safely combines bronchospasmolytic and anti-inflammatory properties ·reviews the impact of the recent introduction of antileukotriene agents, clinical findings with PAF antagonists, and selective antimuscarinics ·evaluates the relationship between improvements in laboratory results and clinical effectiveness ·and more! Containing over 2000 bibliographic citations and a concise introduction for each chapter, New and Exploratory Therapeutic Agents for Asthma is indispensable for pulmonologists, pediatricians, physiologists, immunologists, allergists, pharmaceutical industry scientists, primary care physicians, and medical school students in these disciplines. Introduction / Claude Lenfant -- 1. Epidemiology Of Asthma / Stephen T. Holgate, A.n. Banik -- 2. Pathophysiology Of Asthma / Peter J. Sterk -- 3. Pathology Of Asthma / Ratko Djukanovic -- 4. Muscarinic Receptor Subtypes And Anticholinergic Therapy / Allison D. Fryer, Richard W. Costello, David B. Jacoby -- 5. Long-acting [beta Subscript 2]-agonist Drugs / Richard Beasley, Julian Crane, Carl D. Burgess -- 6. Inhaled Glucocorticoids, Established And New / Stanley J. Szefler, Joseph D. Spahn -- 7. Platelet-activating Factor Antagonists In Bronchial Asthma / Devendra K. Agrawal, Robert G. Townley -- 8. Tachykinin Receptor Antagonists / Guy F. Joos, Charles Advenier -- 9. Therapeutic Potential Of Phosphodiesterase Type 4 Inhibitors In The Treatment Of Asthma / Bernadette Hughes, Gerry Higgs -- 10. Leukotriene Modulators / Anthony P. Sampson, Zuzana Diamant -- 11. The Anti-ige Treatment Strategy For Asthma / John V. Fahy -- 12. Activity Of T-cell Subsets In Allergic Asthma / Andre Boonstra, Huub F.j. Savelkoul -- 13. New Targets For Future Asthma Therapy / Peter J. Barnes -- 14. Current Practice And Future Trends In Clinical Trials In Asthma / Johan C. Kips, Romain A. Pauwels. Edited By Michael Yeadon, Zuzana Diamant. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. Annotation Addresses new treatment strategies for asthma. Early chapters give a foundation on epidemiology, pathogenesis, pathophysiology, and pathohistology of asthma. Later chapters address the status of major therapeutic classes of drugs currently available or in development, and discuss novel methods for addressing underlying pathology and current approaches to establishing credentials of future and existing novel therapies in asthma. For pulmonologists, pediatricians, pharmaceutical industry scientists, and medical students. The editors are affiliated with Pfizer Central Research, England, and Erasmus University Medical Center, The Netherlands. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Discusses three major classes of asthma therapies-bronchodilators, antiinflammatories, and antiallergics. This book addresses the treatment strategies for asthma, keying in on the genetics and molecular biology of asthma and pointing the way toward new, commercially viable therapies. It is for pulmonologists, pediatricians, allergists, and others. This work addresses treatment strategies for asthma, focusing on the genetics and molecular biology of asthma and pointing the way toward new, commercially viable therapies. It also presents information on the epidemiology, pathology, pharmacology and pulmonology of asthma. The epidemiology of a disease is a scientific approach to describing the distribution and determinants of the disease at a population level with the purpose of obtaining a better understanding of the forces driving the pathophysiology of the disease state (1).