Pharmacological reviews
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Pharmacological reviews · Mar 2000
ReviewC1-Esterase inhibitor: an anti-inflammatory agent and its potential use in the treatment of diseases other than hereditary angioedema.
C1-esterase inhibitor (C1-Inh) therapy was introduced in clinical medicine about 25 years ago as a replacement therapy for patients with hereditary angioedema caused by a deficiency of C1-Inh. There is now accumulating evidence, obtained from studies in animals and observations in patients, that administration of C1-Inh may have a beneficial effect as well in other clinical conditions such as sepsis, cytokine-induced vascular leak syndrome, acute myocardial infarction, or other diseases. Activation of the complement system, the contact activation system, and the coagulation system has been observed in these diseases. ⋯ Here we will give an overview on the biochemistry and biology of C1-Inh. We will discuss studies addressing therapeutic administration of C1-Inh in experimental and clinical conditions. Finally, we will provide an explanation for the therapeutic benefit of C1-Inh in so many different diseases.