New medications for asthma

The therapy for chronic stable asthma and acute asthma exacerbations continues to evolve as the pathogenesis of asthma becomes better understood. Although the role of many standard therapies for asthma is well established, some carry significant side effects. The newer anti-inflammatory medications have demonstrated both therapeutic benefit as well as reassuring safety profiles. The challenge of the future is to incorporate the newer medications described, as well as those still being examined, into a treatment regimen that can deliver maximal therapeutic benefit with the lowest possible incidence of side effects.