Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Vol 150, No. 5, Nov 1994, 1262-1267.
Partial inhibition of the early and late asthmatic response by a single dose of salmeterol
EJ Weersink, R Aalbers, GH Koeter, HF Kauffman, JG De Monchy and DS Postma
Department of Pulmonology, University Hospital, Groningen, The Netherlands.
The long-acting beta 2-agonist salmeterol has been suggested to have other
pharmacologic activities, that is, antiinflammatory capacities, in addition
to its bronchodilator properties. We investigated the protective effect of
50 micrograms salmeterol in a placebo-controlled study on house dust
mite-induced early- and late-phase reactions in 19 atopic asthmatic
subjects. FEV1 and methacholine airway reactivity (AR) were measured.
Eosinophils and their activation markers in peripheral blood were counted
as indirect parameters of inflammation. Corrections were made for
confounding of bronchodilator effects by salmeterol and the spontaneous
diurnal variation, using saline inhalation as a control. Salmeterol
completely inhibited the fall in FEV1 up to 10 h after the house dust mite
challenge. Nevertheless, after correction, a biphasic response was present
in the salmeterol group. Salmeterol protected against the
allergen-associated increase in AR 3 h after the challenge, but no
protection was observed after 24 h. Salmeterol did not inhibit the
allergen-induced changes in total number of eosinophils and their
activation markers in peripheral blood. These data suggest that a single
dose of salmeterol modifies allergen-induced airway responses, above all by
sustained bronchodilation.
