Therapeutic prospects for early asthma

Abstract

What we know: There is strong evidence that T cells contribute to asthma pathogenesis. Immune-modulating drugs that dampen, turn off or redirect T cells, and adjuvants that trigger T(H)1 immune responses, are potential therapies for preventing asthma. Current T cell immune suppressors are too toxic to use in very young children with asthma. Immune-modulation research is identifying pathways that might lead to preventive therapy for asthma. Inhibitors of T cell cytokines do not reduce asthma in adults. What we need to know: Is immune deviation from a T(H)2-type response towards a T(H)1-type response a sound strategy given that mixed T(H)1/T(H)2 responses are already known to occur in asthma? ..