There are quite a lot of drugs available for the treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). However, they are always being reviewed in an effort to make them more effective. Because the disease is common and yet there is no cure as of this time, this is urgently required. The result is that on a regular basis, new COPD inhalers are being introduced to the market.
The Need for New COPD Treatment and New COPD Inhalers:
The need for better treatment is truly urgent. This is not just because there is no cure yet for the disease, but also because it gradually worsens over time. Hence, what scientists are looking for is a way to stop it from worsening or at least delay its progress. What surprises many is that there have been such fantastic advances in the treatment of asthma, but this is not being replicated in the case of COPD.
A lot of the treatment strategies being developed have actually been designed for asthma. Unfortunately, the inflammatory processes in asthma and COPD are wholly different. There is, therefore, a global need to find better treatment, not in the least because the said disease is now becoming so prevalent. This must start, scientists feel, by gaining a greater understanding of the underlying chronic inflammation associated with the disease. Specifically, people suffering from the condition usually have both chronic obstructive bronchitis as well as emphysema. People with asthma, by contrast, do not experience this.
Discovering New COPD Drugs:
There are many different reasons as to why it has so far been difficult to find new drugs for this illness. One of them is that interest in the cell and molecular biology of the condition has only recently been raised. Additionally, there are currently no animal test subjects in which COPD drugs can be tested on. Furthermore, to appropriately test a drug, lengthy studies are generally required, which may be difficult, if not impossible, in people who have the said illness. Last but not least, no surrogate markers have yet been identified that could be used to determine how effective treatments are on the short term. That said, there are still some new drugs that are in preclinical or clinical trials at present, so progress is being made.
New Bronchodilators:
Bronchodilators are the most commonly used form of COPD treatment. Hence, new COPD inhalers using such kind of drugs are being developed by improving on existing ones. Some countries have recently made anticholinergic tiotropium available, which is a long-acting inhaled agent. There is also a lot of interest in tiotropium bromide, which is also a long-acting anticholinergic drug. It has so far been found that this particular medicine is more effective for patients than ipratropium bromide, which is currently used four times per day. In fact, it has been shown that tiotropium bromide only has to be used once per day to be as effective. In addition, studies have shown that the quality of life in patients improves, as do the symptoms, for the long term. There has also been a reduction in exacerbation incidences, which was an unexpected result. The only real downside so far is that it is likely to have addictive effects.
