RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Recent changes in the drug treatment of allergic asthma
JF Clinical Medicine
JO Clin Med
FD Royal College of Physicians
SP 477
OP 481
DO 10.7861/clinmedicine.13-5-477
VO 13
IS 5
A1 David Gibeon
A1 Andrew Menzies-Gow
YR 2013
UL http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/13/5/477.abstract
AB Asthma is a heterogeneous condition with multiple phenotypes that respond to treatments in different ways. Allergic asthma is an important phenotype and although currently available treatments are effective, about 5% of affected patients have severe, treatment-refractory disease. Despite advances in our understanding of the disease, there remains an unmet need in this group of patients. The most recent and significant advance in treatment has been anti-­immunoglobulin E (IgE) therapy, which improves symptoms and quality of life in patients with severe allergic asthma. Clinical trials are ongoing with novel biologic agents that demonstrate potential efficacy; determining the subsets of patients for which they are suitable will be crucial to ensure cost effectiveness. Personalised medicine and targeted therapies may hold the key to long-term control in this group of patients.