Anti-Interleukin 5 (IL-5) and IL-5Ra Biological Drugs: Efficacy, Safety, and Future Perspectives in Severe Eosinophilic Asthma.

ABSTRACT: The definition of asthma has changed considerably in recent years, to the extent that asthma is no longer considered a single disease but a heterogeneous disorder that includes several phenotypes and, possibly, endotypes. A more detailed analysis of the immunological mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of asthma shows interleukin 5 (IL-5) to be a crucial cytokine in several asthma phenotypes. In fact, IL-5 exerts selective action on eosinophils, which, in turn, sustain airway inflammation and worsen asthma symptoms and control. Clinical trials have shown drugs targeting IL-5 or its receptor alpha subunit (IL-5Ra) to be a promising therapeutic approach to severe asthma, whose characteristics render standard therapy of little use: systemic corticosteroids only partially control the diseas

SUBMITTER: Bagnasco D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5583162 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature