ABSTRACT
Herbal remedies were the mainstays of asthma treatment before the beginning of the twentieth century, but with the birth of academic pharmacology and industrial chemistry, the active principles of many of these herbs were identified, characterized, and prescribed as medicines. Improvements in the potency, selectivity, pharmacokinetics, and delivery of medications such as beta-agonists, corticosteroids, and methyl xanthines during the twentieth century led to many of the asthma treatments widely used today. Over the last 25 years, there has been an enormous increase in our understanding of the pathological processes underlying asthma. Characterization of the interaction between host genetic factors and environmental stimuli and elucidation of subsequent events has led to identification of many novel drug targets and potential new therapies. The first class of drugs to come from these research efforts and reach the market are the leukotriene inhibitors. New theories of asthma pathogenesis, such as the concept that pulmonary inflammation underlies the signs and symptoms of asthma, have led to new treatment strategies (1).
