COMBINATION ANTI-INFLAMMATORY THERAPY IN COPD

We now know from the recent TORCH data that long acting β₂ agonists, inhaled corticosteroids and the combination of these treatments all reduce exacerbations in patients with COPD. However, the relative anti-inflammatory activity of these different treatments has not been fully evaluated. In this month’s Thorax, Bourbeau and colleagues report on a study comparing the effect of the inhaled salmeterol/fluticasone (SFC) combination with inhaled fluticasone (FP) and placebo on airway inflammation. SFC reduced airway CD8+ cells compared with placebo, but this effect was not seen with FP alone. CD68+ macrophages were also reduced by SFC …