ABSTRACT
The explosion of knowledge about aerosol medicine since the early 1990s is
impressive. Who would have thought 10-15 years ago that we would be
investigating aerosols for use in such things as lung transplantation, gene therapy,
treatment of respiratory failure, nicotine for smoking cessation, and many others,
as well as adding new and valuable information to currently utilized therapeutic
modalities such aerosol bronchodilators, aerosolized steroids, and, for CF,
antibiotic aerosols. The potential for aerosol science to contribute to medical care
has never been greater. The focus of this review is on three broad topics: (1)
certain basic aspects of aerosol deposition, (2) new information about “old”
aerosols, i.e., bronchodilators and their delivery, and (3) new horizons for
aerosols in the treatment of human diseases.
