A new era in the treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma and COPD
Nearly 4 million patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma die each year, mostly from severe acute exacerbations.1 For the past 60 years, systemic corticosteroids have been the mainstay treatment of acute exacerbations.2 However, they confer only modest beneficial effects and are fraught with many adverse health effects including adrenal insufficiency, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes, particularly in patients with co-morbidities and a high cumulative exposure.3 During exacerbations, an intense immune response results in the infiltration of eosinophils and other immune cells into lung tissues.
