ICSs
suppress chronic inflammation of asthma and reduce
airway hyperresponsiveness. LABAs act on different aspects
of the pathophysiology of the disease. In addition to their bronchodilator action,
LABAs also inhibit mast cell mediators release, plasma exudation and may reduce
sensory nerve activation. Thus, these two classes of drugs address
complementary aspects of the pathophysiology of asthma that neither drug class
is able to achieve alone (Fig. 8).
Figure 8: Complementary actions of LABAs and corticosteroids in the pathophysiology of
asthma.7
So far, the physiopathological interactions between ICSs and LABAs in COPD are
less recognised, even
though recent evidence have shown that inhaled combination
LABA/ICS could reduce the inflammatory component
in COPD (see
paragraph 3.3) |
