Method for treating infectious respiratory diseases

Abstract

A method of treating pneumonia caused by a microorganism by administering directly into the lower respiratory tract of a host an amount of an anti-inflammatory agent effective to reduce inflammation is provided. The method may further include administering to a host an amount of an anti-infectious agent which activity against the microorganism effective to reduce the concentration of the microorganism.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is related generally to the therapy of lower respiratory tract diseases caused by respiratory viruses or other infectious agents. More particularly, the present invention is related to a novel, effective, and rapid method of treating lower respiratory tract disease caused particularly by parainfluenza virus type 3 (PIV3) or adenovirus type 5 (Ad-5) by direct administration of corticosteroids or anti-inflammatory drugs into the lower respiratory tract. One embodiment of the invention is primarily directed to a method of treating lower respiratory tract infections that alters the immune response to infection, and is not concerned with the presence of viable infectious agents per se. However, the method of the present invention can also be used in combination with anti-infective therapy.Another embodiment of the invention includes anti-infective therapy. This embodiment is directed to a method of treating lower respiratory tract disease ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a therapeutic device, comprising means for delivering directly into the lower respiratory tract of a subject afflicted with disease caused by PIV3, Ad-5, or other infectious agents, an effective amount of a corticosteroid or an anti-inflammatory drug in the form of small particle aerosol, so that said disease or symptoms thereof are either alleviated, controlled, or cured.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a more effective, simple and quick-acting method of treating infectious respiratory disease caused by viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic agents such as those described above, than heretofore available therapeutic modalities.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of treating lower respiratory tract disease in a host, susceptible to or suffering from a lower respiratory tract disease caused by an infectious agent. This method comprises administering to the host an amount of an anti-infectious agent with activity against the infectious agent and topically administering to the host an amount of an anti-inflammatory agent effective to produce a therapeutic effect against the disease.

Problems solved by technology

Lower respiratory tract disease caused by viruses and other infectious agents is a serious problem in all ages, particularly in the very young and the elderly.

In spite of their importance, however, no vaccine has been developed against either virus.

Currently there is no licensed therapy for PIV3 or Ad-5 lower respiratory disease and the licensed therapy for treating diseases caused by other respiratory viruses is of limited efficacy.

However, corticosteroid therapy was not found to be beneficial in the treatment of viral bronchiolitis, especially that caused by RSV (Leer et al., 1969 Amer. J. Dis. Child, 117:495).

Therefore, elimination of virus from infected tissues, such as in case of ribavirin therapy, may not be expected to reverse host responses already triggered by infection.

The use of anti-inflammatory agents, particularly corticosteroids, in infections diseases has long been controversial (McGowan, 1992, J. Infect. Dis. 165:1-3), presumably due to the fact that suppression of the inflammatory response can lead to impairment of the host's ability to clear the infectious agent.

As discussed above, the use of anti-inflammatory agents to treat infections is usually not recommended because the inflammatory response is part of the immune system, and one would not expect suppressing part of the immune system to be of benefit in treating an infection.

IgG and corticosteroids are already in common clinical use for other indications and are relatively unexpensive.