A new class of medications is in the works to treat allergy-related asthma.

Normal airways can tighten and become inflamed when we inhale dangerous substances. This reaction is an attempt by your body to prevent these threats from traveling too far into the lungs. The airways open up again when the threat has passed. In asthma, the airways are too responsive to the wrong things. Asthma, then, is reversible airway obstruction caused by an excessive response to certain triggers.

Current medications either relieve asthma symptoms or blunt the inflammation and tightening that causes these symptoms. The new class of medications is aimed at stopping asthma triggers even before they act as triggers.

What makes something an asthma trigger? In many cases the body makes excessive antibodies (IgE) to allergens such as pollen, mold, or dust mites. These extra IgE antibodies are what makes someone allergic to these triggers. IgE recognizes the triggers when they are encountered, and initiates the cascade of events that results in narrowed airways.

An exciting breakthrough in asthma treatment

Xolair (omalizumab) is the first medication being developed that targets these excess antibodies. It is an antibody to the IgE antibodies. The goal is to stop the body from overreacting to asthma triggers by incapacitating the IgE. This could interrupt the excessive response even before it starts.

This new class of medications holds promise both for the treatment of allergy-related asthma and for other forms of allergic disease.