CNS Drugs 2002;16(1):1-8
Makhlouf K, Weiner HL, Khoury SJ.
Center for Neurologic Diseases,
Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts,
USA.
The beta(2)-adrenergic receptor agonist salbutamol (albuterol) has been used for many years in the treatment of bronchospasm in patients with asthma.
In this patient group, salbutamol is a relatively safe and inexpensive drug, and is easy to administer.
Within the last few years, there has been increasing evidence that salbutamol might have immunomodulatory properties both in vitro and in vivo, in different animal models as well as in humans.
This has led researchers to consider salbutamol as a potential therapy for several autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS).
In this article, we review the literature presenting such evidence, and discuss the possible mechanisms by which salbutamol influences the immune system.
We conclude that salbutamol might
be an interesting add-on therapy in patients with MS and that further research
is warranted.
PMID: 11772115 [PubMed - as supplied
by publisher]