New Asthma Treatments (anti-IL-5)
In recent years we have seen an explosion in biologic medication, such as Enbrel and Humira. The majority of these medications are used to treat various autoimmune diseases like Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Inflammatory Bowel disease etc.
Omalizumab(Xolair) or anti-IgE therapy has been the only biologic medication we have had to treat allergy and asthma. IgE is the antibody that triggers allergic reactions. For the last several years the Board Certified Allergists/Immunologists at Coastal Allergy Care have been using Xolair (Omalizumab) to treat appropriate patients with asthma and chronic hives. Now we will have another treatment option. We are excited to add anti IL-5 to our armamentarium of medications to treat appropriate patients with poorly controlled asthma. Interleukin-5 can increase the quantity of eosinophils and increase inflammation in our body. Eosinophils are a type of cell which have been implicated in allergic disease including certain forms of asthma.
No Comments