Indications
To read more about the indications that are addressed by Vectura’s products, please click on the links below:
Asthma
Chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease
Cystic
fibrosis
Erectile
dysfunction
Migraine
Parkinson’s
disease
Premature
ejaculation
Asthma
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways characterised by airway hyper-responsiveness and airflow limitation that can be acute and severe, leading to symptoms of breathlessness, chest tightness, wheezing and coughing. Chronic inflammation causes airflow obstruction through contraction of airway smooth muscle (bronchoconstriction) and swelling of the airway wall. Allergic inflammation is usually triggered by inhaled allergens, inducing the release of inflammatory mediators that contract bronchial smooth muscle and narrow the airways. The symptoms of asthma may be treated using bronchodilators and the prevention of the underlying symptoms using corticosteroids.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
COPD is an irreversible and chronic obstruction of the airways, caused primarily by smoking; up to one in fifteen smokers suffer from the condition. It includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema or both conditions, which slowly progress and can lead to a largely irreversible loss of lung function. While there is no cure for the underlying disease, current drug treatment for COPD usually involves a stepped regimen, starting with an inhaled bronchodilator (anti-muscarinics and/or beta-agonists) before adding an inhaled steroid and frequently using oral antibiotics to control commonly occurring infections. It is recognised that COPD is poorly treated, partly because of the problems of largely irreversible airflow obstruction, mucus production and infections associated with the disease and partly due to misdiagnosis. It is believed that patients would benefit from bronchodilation, which improves airflow by relaxing the airways.
Cystic fibrosis (CF)
CF is a result of a genetic defect that at its most extreme causes dysfunctional salt transfer leading to the over-production of mucus and the development of pulmonary symptoms. (There is also a range of non-pulmonary symptoms depending on the degree of genetic defect.) In healthy individuals, mucus is secreted in the lungs in limited quantities to help clear them of foreign matter. In diseases such as CF and COPD, the lungs’ natural process of mucus production and secretion is dysfunctional and the lungs are unable effectively to clear the resultant increased volume of thick mucus. In addition to the mucus becoming colonised with bacteria, initiation of an inflammatory response in the lung causes irreversible tissue damage and loss of lung function. Bronchoconstriction is common in such patients and contributes to shortness of breath, exercise limitation and ultimately respiratory failure.
Erectile dysfunction (ED)
ED or male impotence is a sexual dysfunction characterised by the inability to develop or maintain a penile erection. There are various underlying causes, such as peripheral vascular disease, cardiovascular disease, neural damage following prostatectomy, spinal damage or psychological problems, many of which are medically treatable. Other factors leading to ED are diabetes (causing neuropathy) or hypogonadism (decreased testosterone levels due to disease affecting the testicles or the pituitary gland).
Migraine
Migraine is a neurological disease with a vascular component of which the most common symptom is an intense and disabling episodic headache lasting from between four and seventy-two hours. 60% of migraineurs are female. Migraine headaches are usually characterised by severe pain on one or both sides of the head, often accompanied by photophobia (hypersensitivity to light), phonophobia (hypersensitivity to sound) and nausea. Conventional treatment focuses on two areas: trigger avoidance (food, noise etc) and oral, subcutaneous or intranasal symptomatic control (analgesics and serotonin receptor agonists or triptans).
Parkinson’s disease (PD)
PD is a progressive neurological disorder that leads to the loss of dopamine production in the basal ganglia region of the brain controlling muscle movements. People with PD often experience trembling, muscle rigidity, difficulty walking and problems with balance and co-ordination. As the disease progresses, therapeutic control diminishes and patients experience severe, disabling and unpredictable hypo-motor complications (‘‘off’’ episodes) of sudden onset.
Premature ejaculation (PE)
PE is also known as rapid ejaculation, premature climax, early ejaculation or by the Latin term ejaculatio praecox. It is characterised by a lack of voluntary control over ejaculation. Some physical illnesses such as a prostate infection are known to induce PE and certain medications, such as cold treatments containing pseudoephedrine may also cause it, but it is far more commonly psychological in origin. Today it is believed that the serotonergic and noradrenergic pathways have a central role in modulating ejaculation.
