Respiratory pharmacology. Beta-adrenergic drugs.

ABSTRACT

This article reviews the enormous literature on beta agonists, emphasizing three aspects the structural, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and toxicologic properties that are essential for understanding the clinical application of these drugs; the relative advantages and disadvantages of various routes of administration, including the different ways of prescribing the aerosols; and the pharmacologic factors that may limit the further development of these compounds for therapy.