Omalizumab in the treatment of severe asthma: efficacy and current problems

Omalizumab is a humanized monoclonal anti-IgE antibody recently approved for the treatment of severe allergic asthma. This drug inhibits allergic responses by binding to serum IgE, thus preventing their interactions with cellular IgE receptors. Omalizumab is also capable of downregulating the expres...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Therapeutic advances in respiratory disease 2008-12, Vol.2 (6), p.409-421
Main Authors: Pelaia, Girolamo, Renda, Teresa, Romeo, Pasquale, Busceti, Maria Teresa, Maselli, Rosario
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anti-Asthmatic Agents - administration & dosage
Anti-Asthmatic Agents - adverse effects
Anti-Asthmatic Agents - immunology
Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic
Antibodies, Monoclonal - administration & dosage
Antibodies, Monoclonal - adverse effects
Antibodies, Monoclonal - immunology
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
Asthma - drug therapy
Asthma - immunology
Asthma - physiopathology
Clinical Trials as Topic
Drug Therapy, Combination
Humans
Immunoglobulin E - immunology
Omalizumab
Severity of Illness Index
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Omalizumab is a humanized monoclonal anti-IgE antibody recently approved for the treatment of severe allergic asthma. This drug inhibits allergic responses by binding to serum IgE, thus preventing their interactions with cellular IgE receptors. Omalizumab is also capable of downregulating the expression of high-affinity IgE receptors on inflammatory cells, as well as the numbers of eosinophils in both blood and induced sputum. The clinical effects of omalizumab include relevant improvements in respiratory symptoms and quality of life, paralleled by a marked reduction of asthma exacerbations, emergency room visits, and use of systemic corticosteroids and rescue bronchodilators. Omalizumab is relatively well tolerated, and only rarely induces anaphylactic reactions. Therefore, this drug represents a valid option as add-on therapy for patients with severe persistent allergic asthma, inadequately controlled by high doses of standard inhaled treatments.
ISSN:1753-4658
DOI:10.1177/1753465808100431