Abstract
Obstructive lung diseases, including asthma and COPD, are characterized by air-flow limitation. Bronchodilator therapy can often decrease symptoms of air-flow obstruction by relaxing airway smooth muscle (bronchodilation), decreasing dyspnea, and improving quality of life. In this review, we discuss the pharmacology of the β agonist and anticholinergic bronchodilators and their use, particularly in asthma and COPD. Expanding knowledge of receptor subtypes and G-protein signaling, agonist and antagonist specificity, and drug delivery have led to the introduction of safer medications with fewer off-target effects, medications with longer duration of action that may improve adherence, and more effective and efficient aerosol delivery devices.
- beta agonists
- anticholinergic medications
- muscarinic antagonists
- aerosol delivery
- clinical pharmacology
- asthma
Footnotes
- Correspondence: Bruce K Rubin MEngr MD MBA FAARC, Children's Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 East Broad St, Richmond, VA 23298. E-mail: bruce.rubin{at}vcuhealth.org.
Dr Rubin presented a version of this paper at the 56th Respiratory Care Journal Conference, Respiratory Medications for COPD and Adult Asthma: Pharmacologic Actions to Clinical Applications, held June 22–23, 2017, in St Petersburg, Florida.
The authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest.
↵* Michael T Newhouse MD, invited discussant. Dr Newhouse is chief medical officer for InspiRx.
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