Formoterol

BACKGROUND: β2-adrenoceptor agonists have been shown to reduce the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cytokine release by human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs). We compare the expression of β2-adrenoceptors and the inhibitory effect of formoterol and salmeterol on the LPS-induced release of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and a range of chemokines (CCL2, 3, 4, and IL-8) by human lung macrophages (LMs) and MDMs. METHODS: LMs were isolated from patients undergoing resection and MDMs were obtained from blood monocytes in the presence of GM-CSF...

BACKGROUND: Evidence of poor patient adherence to medications for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is well-documented, but its impact on disease exacerbation rates and associated healthcare costs remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between adherence levels to different inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting ß2-adrenergic agonist (LABA) and COPD exacerbation rates and costs in a commercially insured population. METHODS: In this observational cohort study, patients with COPD (aged ≥40 years) who were treatment-naïve to inhaled corticosteroid/LABA and were initiating budesonide plus formoterol or fluticasone plus salmeterol between March 1, 2009, and January 31, 2014, were identified in a national representative claims database and were followed for up to 12 months...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Although the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) increases with age, no specific therapeutic approaches are available till date for the elderly population. AIM: To assess the efficacy and safety of once-daily indacaterol 150 and 300 μg in elderly patients with moderate to severe COPD. METHODS: Data were pooled from 11 randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled studies (8445 patients with COPD)...

BACKGROUND: Inhalation is the preferred route for respiratory drug delivery, but several factors contribute to the variability of the respirable dose fraction. Instant velocity and the dynamic characteristics of the droplet cloud represent crucial factors. Aim was to measure and compare the instant velocity and the consistency of emitted cloud from five different MDIs (A - Salbutamol sulphate 100mcg, GSK; B - Salbutamol sulphate 100mcg, Valeas; C - Salmeterol xinafoate/Fluticasone propionate 25/125mcg, GSK; D - Formoterol fumarate/Bechlomethasone propionate 6/100mcg, Chiesi; E - Formoterol fumarate/Fluticasone dipropionate 5/125mcg, Mundipharma) and one SMI (Tiotropium bromide 5mcg, Boehringer Ingelheim), at different distance from the nozzle and canister filling...

BACKGROUND: 'Clinically important deterioration' (CID) is a composite endpoint measuring worsening of the key clinical features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), namely lung function, patient-reported outcomes, and exacerbations. ACLIFORM and AUGMENT were two 24-week, randomized, double-blind, phase III studies assessing twice-daily (BID) aclidinium bromide (AB) 400 μg/formoterol fumarate (FF) 12 μg. This pooled post-hoc analysis assessed the effects of AB/FF 400/12 μg on both first and sustained CID events versus placebo and monotherapies in patients with moderate to severe COPD...

BACKGROUND: When discontinuation in COPD randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is unevenly distributed between treatments (differential dropout), the capacity to demonstrate treatment effects may be reduced. We investigated the impact of the time of differential dropout on exacerbation outcomes in RCTs, in relation to study duration and COPD severity. METHODS: A post hoc analysis of 2,345 patients from three RCTs of 6- and 12-month duration was performed to compare budesonide/formoterol and formoterol in moderate, severe, and very severe COPD...

BACKGROUND: Fluticasone propionate/formoterol (FP/FORM) is a pressurized metered-dose inhaler (pMDI; Flutiform(®)) approved for use in adolescents and adults and under development for pediatric use. OBJECTIVE: To compare short-term growth in asthmatic children treated with FP/FORM, FP pMDI with valved holding chamber, and beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) in a breath-actuated device. METHODS: Children with persistent asthma (n = 48; 5 to <12 years) participated in an assessor-blinded, randomized, three-way crossover trial with run in, wash out, and active treatment periods, each of 2 weeks duration...

BACKGROUND: To assess the level of asthma control achieved with budesonide/formoterol in Chinese patients with asthma, based on the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) definition and Asthma Control Test (ACT) score. METHODS: This multicenter, cross-sectional study (NCT01785901) evaluated asthma control levels in Chinese patients receiving physician-prescribed budesonide/formoterol treatment. Adults with a diagnosis of asthma ≥6 months and receiving budesonide/formoterol treatment ≥3 months before screening were consecutively enrolled...

Asthma mortality surveys report delays in seeking medical review and overuse of beta-agonist therapy as factors contributing to a fatal outcome. However, the strength of these associations is limited because many asthma deaths are unwitnessed. We undertook a secondary analysis of data from a 24-week randomised controlled trial of 303 patients with high-risk asthma, randomised to combination budesonide/formoterol inhaler according to a single maintenance and reliever therapy regimen or fixed dose budesonide/formoterol with salbutamol as reliever (Standard) regimen...

BACKGROUND: The addition of long-acting beta2-agonists (LABAs) to corticosteroids improves asthma control. Cigarette smoke exposure, increasing oxidative stress, may negatively affect corticosteroid responses. The anti-inflammatory effects of formoterol (FO) and fluticasone propionate (FP) in human bronchial epithelial cells exposed to cigarette smoke extracts (CSE) are unknown. AIMS: This study explored whether FP, alone and in combination with FO, in human bronchial epithelial cellline (16-HBE) and primary bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE), counteracted some CSE-mediated effects and in particular some of the molecular mechanisms of corticosteroid resistance...

Objective: Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CM) may serve as a new assay for drug testing in a human context, but their validity particularly for the evaluation of inotropic drug effects remains unclear. In this blinded analysis, we compared the effects of 10 indicator compounds with known inotropic effects in electrically stimulated (1.5 Hz) hiPSC-CM-derived 3 dimensional engineered heart tissue (EHT) and human atrial trabeculae (hAT). Methods and results: Human EHTs were prepared from iCell® hiPSC-CM, hAT obtained at routine heart surgery...

BACKGROUND: Exercise is one of the most common triggers of bronchoconstriction and affects up to 80% of children with asthma. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to assess the effectiveness of treatment with ciclesonide 160 microgram, either alone, with a higher dose, with a leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA), or with a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) in children with asthma with postexercise-induced symptoms...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death globally and incidence rates are continuing to rise. Long-acting bronchodilators are the foundation on which current pharmacological approaches to COPD management are built, with long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs) and long-acting β2-agonists (LABAs) recommended across the spectrum of the disease continuum. Combining LAMAs and LABAs provides additional lung function improvements and relief of patient symptoms compared with either therapy alone...

BACKGROUND: Concerns have been raised that treatment of COPD with inhaled corticosteroids may increase pneumonia risk. Responding to a request from the European Medicines Agency Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, a pooled analysis of interventional studies compared pneumonia risk with inhaled budesonide-containing versus non-budesonide-containing treatments and the impact of other clinically relevant factors. METHODS: AstraZeneca-sponsored, parallel-group, double-blind, randomized controlled trials meeting the following criteria were included: >8 weeks' duration; ≥60 patients with COPD; inhaled budesonide treatment arm (budesonide/formoterol or budesonide); and non-budesonide-containing comparator arm (formoterol or placebo)...

BACKGROUND: The long-term safety and efficacy of a novel Co-Suspension™ Delivery Technology glycopyrrolate (GP)/formoterol fumarate (FF) 18/9.6 μg fixed-dose combination metered dose inhaler (GFF MDI) were investigated in a 28-week safety extension study (PINNACLE-3, NCT01970878) of two randomized controlled Phase III trials (PINNACLE-1 and -2; NCT01854645 and NCT01854658) in subjects with moderate-to-very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: Subjects completing 24 weeks' treatment with GFF MDI, GP MDI, FF MDI (all twice-daily) or open-label tiotropium 18 μg (once-daily) in PINNACLE-1 or -2 were randomly selected to continue treatment for 28 weeks...

BACKGROUND: Asthma management may involve a step up in treatment when symptoms are not well controlled. We examined whether budesonide/formoterol maintenance and reliever therapy (MRT) is as effective as higher, fixed-dose budesonide plus as-needed terbutaline in patients requiring step-up from Step 2 treatment (low-dose inhaled corticosteroids), stratified by baseline reliever use. METHODS: A post-hoc analysis utilized data from three clinical trials of 6-12 months' duration...

The xanthine doxofylline has been examined in clinical trials and shown to have efficacy and greater tolerability than theophylline in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The 'novofylline' doxofylline has demonstrated bronchodilatory and anti-inflammatory actions in in vivo and ex vivo experimental models of respiratory disease. However, there are limited studies in vitro. We address this herein and examine whether doxofylline has anti-inflammatory impact on primary cultures of airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells...

International guidelines have been edited to standardize asthma management. These guidelines are often difficult to translate to clinical practice because of gaps in the knowledge of clinical practitioners but also because of compliance issues, particularly in children and adolescents. A new approach named SIT (for Single Inhaler Therapy) or SMART (for Symbicort Maintenance and Reliever Therapy) has demonstrated its safety and efficacy in numerous studies of adults with asthma summarized in two Cochrane reviews...

BACKGROUND: Limited data are available for the efficacy of triple therapy with two long-acting bronchodilators and an inhaled corticosteroid in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We compared treatment with extrafine beclometasone dipropionate, formoterol fumarate, and glycopyrronium bromide (BDP/FF/GB; fixed triple) with tiotropium, and BDP/FF plus tiotropium (open triple). METHODS: For this double-blind, parallel-group, randomised, controlled trial, eligible patients had COPD, post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) of less than 50%, at least one moderate-to-severe COPD exacerbation in the previous 12 months, and a COPD Assessment Test total score of at least 10...