Curr Opin Invest Dr
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Curr Opin Invest Dr · May 2006
ReviewRoflumilast for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive disease of the airways that is triggered primarily by smoking. It manifests clinically with dyspnea, cough and sputum production, all of which become aggravated with disease progression. ⋯ Methylxanthines are non-selective phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors with bronchodilatory and anti-inflammatory effects; however, their use in COPD and other respiratory conditions is limited by their narrow therapeutic index and poor safety profile. Cilomilast and roflumilast are selective PDE4 inhibitors that are currently in pre-registration and phase III clinical trials, respectively, for the treatment of COPD (cilomilast and roflumilast) and asthma (roflumilast).
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Curr Opin Invest Dr · May 2006
The therapeutic potential of TREM-1 modulation in the treatment of sepsis and beyond.
The triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM)-1 is a recently identified molecule that is involved in monocytic activation and the inflammatory response. It belongs to a family related to natural killer cell receptors, and is expressed on neutrophils, mature monocytes and macrophages. The engagement of TREM-1 synergizes with the activation of several toll-like receptors in amplifying the inflammatory response mediated by microbial components. The modulation of the TREM-1 signaling pathway, by the use of small synthetic peptides derived from its extracellular domain, confers interesting survival advantages during experimental murine septic shock, even when administered late after the onset of sepsis.