Drugs that dampen acute and chronic inflammation and their sequelae are
currently some of the most widely utilised therapeutic agents. With the increasing
appreciation that inflammation is involved in the pathobiology of most of the serious
and complex disorders that affect mankind, the development and therapeutic uses of
anti-inflammatory drugs will likely grow with increasing demand for precision
interventions in inflammatory pathways. In this article, we examine commonly utilised
anti-inflammatory drugs with a view to how their efficacy has informed our
fundamental understanding of inflammatory mediators and pathways. We then look at
more recently developed, or developing, targeted strategies that have emerged from a
deeper appreciation of these pathways.
Keywords: Anti-inflammatory drugs, Asthma, Biologicals, COPD, DMARDs,
Glucocorticoids, Inflammatory cells, Inflammation, Inflammatory disease,
Inflammatory mediators, NSAIDs, Rheumatoid arthritis.
