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).