Translation of in vitro findings to patients with asthma: a timely and compelling challenge

Our increased understanding of airway inflammation in asthma has resulted in major breakthroughs in the treatment of patients. Following the introduction of anti-inflammatory inhaled corticosteroids in the 1970s, the introduction of biologicals that selectively neutralise the activity of, for example, IgE and interleukin-5, has been a major development in targeting inflammation in subgroups of patients with severe asthma [1]. The development of these biologicals required identification of targets for therapy and proof of concept intervention studies to establish the validity of these targets. This was the result of the combined power of clinical research in patients with asthma, as well as experimental studies using in vivo and in vitro models of the disease.

Source: European Respiratory Journal - October 9, 2019 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Hiemstra, P. S., Sterk, P. J. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research