Drug Therapy for Asthma

John W. Jenne is a Section Chief of Pulmonary Diseases at Edward Hines, Jr. Veterans Administration Hospital in Hines, Illinois, and Professor of Medicine at Loyola-Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Illinois, holding both positions since 1977. Shirley Murphy is Director of Pediatric Pulmonary/Critical Care Division and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque.

Introduction I. Theory: Anatomy and Physiology of Respiratory Smooth Muscle Tone 2. Airway Receptors 3. Receptor-Mediated Regulation of Tension in Smooth Muscle Cells 4. In Vitro Responses to Bronchodilator Drugs 5. Physiology and Pharmacodynamics of Beta-Adrenergic Agonists 6. Pharmacokinetics of Beta-Adrenergic Compounds 7. Beta-Adrenergic Tachyphylaxis (Desensitization) and Functional Antagonism 8. Physiology and Pharmacodynamics of the Xanthines 9. Effects of Methylxanthine on Respiratory Skeletal Muscle and Neural Drive 10. Theophylline: Pharmacokinetics and Clinical Application 11. Aerosol Dynamics and Delivery Systems 12. Drug Actions on Mediators 13. Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Glucocorticosteroids 14. Calcium Channel Blockers 15. Measurement and Significance of the Bronchodilator Response 16. Anticholinergic Agents 17. Cromolyn Sodium 18. Corticosteroids 19. Bronchodilator Management of the Adult in the United States 20. Bronchodilator Management of the Adult in the United Kingdom 21. Bronchodilator Treatment of Children 22. Acute Life-Threatening Asthma 23. Treatment of the Life-Threatening Asthma Attack in Children 24 The Office Approach to Unusual Causes of Asthma 25 Theophylline Toxicity 26 Toxicity of Beta-Adrenergic Drugs 27. Platelet Activating Factor and the Search for Prophylactic Antiasthma Drugs