Pharmacotherapy of asthma and COPD

The available agents for treating asthma and COPD can be divided into two general categories: drugs that inhibit smooth muscle contraction, i.e., the so-called "quick relief medications" or bronchodilators (beta-adrenergic agonists, methylxanthines, and anticholinergics) and agents that prevent and/or reverse inflammation, i.e., the "long-term control medications" (glucocorticoids, leukotriene inhibitors and receptor antagonists, and mast cell-stabilizing agents, or cromones).

Bronchodilators

Bronchodilators cause rapid reversal of airway obstruction, which results in part from an effect on airway smooth muscle. Three classes of bronchodilators are in current use: β-adrenergic agonists (sympathomimetics), theophylline (methylxanthines) and anticholinergic drugs.

Category: Pharmacology Notes