Competitor,
Soluble IL-4 Receptor Effective in Asthma Treatment
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WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) Jun 26 - Among patients with moderate persistent asthma, a soluble interleukin-4 receptor (IL-4R), which acts as an IL-4 antagonist, appears to be safe and effective in preventing a decline in lung function and in preventing asthma symptoms.
Dr. Larry C. Borish, from the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center in Charlottesville, and colleagues randomized 62 subjects with moderate persistent asthma to IL-4R or placebo. Before the subjects were randomized they were taken off inhaled corticosteroids, according to the research team's report in the June issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
During the 12 weeks of the trial, those in the IL-4R group received weekly doses of 0.75 mg, 1.5 mg, or 3.0 mg of IL-4R. Among patients receiving the 3.0-mg dose, there was no decline in FEV1; however, lung function did decline among those receiving placebo. In addition there was no increase in asthma symptoms among those receiving 3.0 mg of IL-4R, Dr. Borish's team reports.
This study is "the first...to demonstrate the potential clinical efficacy of a TH2 inhibitor for the treatment of asthma," the investigators note.
"An anti-inflammatory agent that is not a corticosteroid and that selectively inhibits allergic mechanisms will be a significant advance in the treatment of asthma....These data demonstrate the critical role of IL-4 in the pathogenesis of asthma and the potential benefit of this approach to therapy," Dr. Borish and colleagues conclude.
J Allergy Clin Immunol 2001;107:963-970. |
