In this episode Dr. Joshua Honaker speaks with board-certified immunologist and allergist J. Wesley Sublett, MD, MPH, FAAP.

Dr. Wesley’s career has led him to the position of director of the Family Allergy & Asthma Research Institute in Louisville, KY, the largest allergy and asthma brand in the state. He speaks of their focus to have a positive impact on the quality of life of their patients by enabling them to go on and do whatever they want to. They cover how managing asthma has changed over the years, research going on today, the future of treatment, and more.

In the past five years, the world has gained more tools than ever before. The idea of treating allergic diseases today is more about precision medicine, which is tailoring an individualized treatment for a patient based on their disease severity and disease pathways. The episode introduces biologic medications which are specially-tailored smart bomb therapies that allow you to target specific pathways in the immune system that lead to greater quality of life and disease control. 

The doctors highlight the importance of the doctor-parent relationship and the value of doctors providing parents with information to make the best decision for their family. When a doctor has a personalized approach, the parent and patient are often more compliant with the treatment plan.

Dr. Sublett is also very involved in research on this topic and shares what he expects us to see in the coming years. We continue to have the development of new biologics, or smart bombs, and those continue to be the future of all of medicine from asthma to other diseases. These therapies can be life-changing for patients. Research is now looking to see if we can use some of these biologics early in life to prevent progression or even the onset of some of the diseases.

To learn more, check out Dr. Sublett's Specialty Toolkit on asthma here.