Directions for New Anti-Asthma Drugs

ISBN-13: 9783034899307 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 326 str.

S. R. O'Donnell;Persson

Opis

The last twenty years have witnessed enormous efforts by the pharmaceutical industry in the search for new drugs for the treatment of asthma. During this time, as a result of the efforts of asthma researchers in many disciplines, there has been an unprecedented increase in our knowledge about asthma as a disease and about the pharmacology of the existing anti-asthma drugs. This increase in knowledge should have generated information from which directions for future anti-asthma drug research and development might be predicted. Thus, we felt it was timely to invite a group of leading international pharmacologists to meet together on the occasion of the Xth International Congress of Pharmacology, being held for the first time in Australia (in Sydney August 23- 28th, 1987), for a satellite meeting to discuss the topic "New drugs for asthma." The proceedings of this small workshop are presented in this book. The meeting was unique in that leading pharmacologists from most of the pharmaceutical companies involved in the development of anti-asthma drugs were present. All participants, whether from the industry or from academia, were active researchers involved in providing the animal data and in carrying out human pharmacological studies, on new anti- asthma drugs. Although the proceedings have been subtitled into "symptomatic" and "prophylactic" anti-asthma drugs for the purposes of presentation, this is not meant to pinpoint the idea that we believe such clear cut differences necessarily exist. In fact, they may not exist.

Spis treści

An overview of the current status of the drug therapy of asthma.- “Symptomatic” Therapy of Asthma.- Action of mediators on airway smooth muscle: functional antagonism as a mechanism for bronchodilator drugs.- New possibilities for the ?-adrenoceptor agonist bronchodilator drugs.- Calcium ion mechanisms in airway smooth muscle: potential targets for novel symptomatic drugs for asthma.- K+ -channel opening as a mechanism for relaxing airways smooth muscle.- Modulation of arachidonic acid metabolites as potential therapy of asthma.- L-648, 051, A potent and specific aerosol active leukotriene D4 antagonist.- Characterisation of the leukotriene receptor(s) on human isolated lung strips.- Generation of leukotrienes in guinea-pigs in vivo during antigen-induced bronchospasm.- “Non-Symptomatic/Prophylactic” Therapy of asthma.- Xanthines — symptomatic or prophylactic in asthma?.- Do anti-allergic drugs or anticholinergic drugs have a role in the treatment of asthma?.- Drugs affecting pulmonary responses to platelet activating factor as novel anti-asthma drugs.- Pharmacological evaluation of prophylactic anti-asthma drugs by reference to the pathological sequelae of exposure to allergen or platelet activating factor.- Lipoxygenase metabolites as mediators of platelet activating factor-induced increased airways responsiveness to histamine in the guinea-pig.- Effects of LG 30435 on different platelet activating factor-induced responses.- Effect of the PAF-antagonist WEB 2086 on anaphylactic lung reaction: comparison of inhalative and intravenous challenge.- Airway microvascular permeability in asthma — a target for drug action?.- Developments in anti-asthma.- Aerosol and oral corticosteroids in the treatment of asthma.- Routes of Administration of anti-asthma drugs.- Bambuterol, a bronchodilator prodrug with sustained action, enhances delivery of active drug to the lung.- Is choice of drug delivery as important as choice of drug in childhood asthma?.- Studies in healthy volunteers can demonstrate bronchodilator activity of orally administered drugs.- Concluding Talk.- The drug therapy of asthma: directions for the 21st century.- Discussion.- New drugs for asthma.