Efficacy of anticholinergic drugs in asthma

Abstract

Although bronchial hyperresponsiveness to cholinergic agents is a main feature of asthma, the role of anticholinergic drugs in chronic asthma management has been largely underestimated. Several single-dose studies comparing acute bronchodilation induced by ipratropium bromide with salbutamol have shown that salbutamol was more effective than ipratropium in asthma treatment. Recently, tiotropium has been studied in asthma, when added to low-dose inhaled corticosteroids in unselected moderate asthmatics or in patients with uncontrolled asthma, or patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and history of asthma. Later, studies on patients with Arg/Arg β₂-receptor polymorphism demonstrated a similar efficacy of tiotropium in comparison with salmeterol when both were added to low-dose inhaled corticosteroids. Further long-term studies are currently in progress, for the evaluation of the efficacy of tiotropium on clinical asthma control, and on the rate and severity of asthma exacerbations, as well as the potential modification of inflammatory mechanisms and varying efficacy in specific asthma phenotypes (such as smoking asthmatics).

Keywords::

• anticholinergics
• asthma
• ipratropium
• phenotypes
• tiotropium

Financial & competing interests disclosure

In the last 5 years, P Paggiaro has received institutional support for educational and research activities from: AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi, GlaxoSmithKline, MSD, Menarini, Novartis and Nycomed. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.