In the 12th century the Jewish physician-philosopher Maimonides wrote a treatise on asthma in Arabic, based partly on Arabic sources, in which he discussed the symptoms, proposed various dietary and other means of treatment, and emphasized the importance of climate and clean air.In 1873, one of the first papers in modern medicine on the subject tried to explain the pathophysiology of the disease while one in 1872, concluded that asthma can be cured by rubbing the chest with chloroform liniment. Medical treatment in 1880 included the use of intravenous doses of a drug called pilocarpine. In 1886, F. H. Bosworth theorized a connection between asthma and hay fever. Epinephrine was first referred to in the treatment of asthma in 1905. Oral corticosteroids began to be used for this condition in the 1950s while inhaled corticosteroids and selective short acting beta agonist came into wide use in the 1960s.A well-documented case in the 19th century was that of young Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919). At that time there was no effective treatment. Roosevelts youth was in large part shaped by his poor health partly related to his asthma. He experienced recurring nighttime asthma attacks that felt as if he was being smothered to death, terrifying the boy and his parents.During the 1930s to 1950s, asthma was known as one of the "holy seven" psychosomatic illnesses. Its cause was considered to be psychological, with treatment often based on psychoanalysis and other talking cures.
Asenapine, sold under the brand name Saphris among others, is an atypical antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia and acute mania associated with bipolar disorder.It was chemically derived via altering the chemical structure of the tetracyclic (atypical) antidepressant, mianserin.It was initially approved in the United States in 2009 and approved as a generic medication in 2020. Medical uses
Asenapine has been approved by the FDA for the acute treatment of adults with schizophrenia and acute treatment of manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder with or without psychotic features in adults. In Australia asenapines approved (and also listed on the PBS) indications include the following:
Schizophrenia
Treatment, for up to 6 months, of an episode of acute mania or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder
Maintenance treatment, as monotherapy, of bipolar I disorderIn the European Union and the United Kingdom, asenapine is only licensed for use as a treatment for acute mania in bipolar I disorder.Asenapine is absorbed readily if administered sublingually, asenapine is poorly absorbed when swallowed. A transdermal formulation of asenapine was approved in the United States in October 2019 under the brand name Secuado. Schizophrenia
A Cochrane systematic review found that while Asenapine has some preliminary evidence that it improves positive, negative, and depressive symptoms, it does not have enough research to merit a certain recommendation of Asenapine for the treatment of schizophrenia.