Abstract

Novel mechanisms and new therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Author(s): Peter J Barnes

There is a pressing requirement to develop new therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as current therapies fail to prevent disease progression or mortality and do not deal with the underlying inflammatory process. The mainstay of current drug therapy is long-acting bronchodilators, but no treatments suppress chronic inflammation in COPD, which is corticosteroid-resistant. With better understanding of the inflammatory and destructive process in the pathophysiology of COPD, several novel therapeutic targets have been identified, leading to the development of various mediator antagonists, novel broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory treatments and drugs that may reverse the molecular mechanisms of corticosteroid resistance.