The future of antiinflammatory therapy.

The cells and mediators that make up the inflammatory response have the potential to injure tissues and contribute to the pathophysiology of many inflammatory diseases. Strategies to reduce neutrophil migration into sites of inflammation and subsequent activation by inhibiting integrin-mediated adhesion hold promise for successful treatment of a variety of inflammatory diseases. New pharmacologic agents that specifically target prostanoid mediators of inflammation by specifically inhibiting the activity of cyclooxygenase 2 are potent antiinflammatory agents with fewer gastrointestinal side effects than nonspecific cyclooxygenase inhibitors. These areas of antiinflammatory research are rapidly yielding drugs with diverse future applications in equine medicine.