Exploring the relevance and extent of small airways dysfunction in asthma (ATLANTIS): baseline data from a prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Small airways dysfunction (SAD) is well recognised in asthma, yet its role in the severity and control of asthma is unclear. This study aimed to assess which combination of biomarkers, physiological tests, and imaging markers best measure the presence and extent of SAD in patients with asthma.METHODS: In this baseline assessment of a multinational prospective cohort study (the Assessment of Small Airways Involvement in Asthma [ATLANTIS] study), we recruited participants with and without asthma (defined as Global Initiative for Asthma severity stages 1-5) from general practices, the databases of chest physicians, and advertisements at 29 centres across nine countries (Brazil, Chi…

WITHDRAWN: Scaling up strategies of the Chronic Respiratory Disease programme of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (Action Plan B3 – Area 5)

Care pathways for the selection of a biologic in severe asthma.

Physicians need care pathways to select a biologic in type 2 severe asthma (omalizumab, mepolizumab, reslizumab) http://ow.ly/pygw30gB7Bv

Asthmatic Bronchial Epithelium Is More Susceptible to Oxidant-Induced Apoptosis

Abnormal apoptotic mechanisms are associated with disease pathogenesis. Because the asthmatic bronchial epithelium is characteristically damaged with loss of columnar epithelial cells, we postulated that this is due to unscheduled apoptosis. Using an antibody directed toward the caspase cleavage product of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, immunohistochemistry applied to endobronchial biopsies showed higher levels of staining in the bronchial epithelium of subjects with asthma as compared with normal control subjects (% epithelial staining [median (range) = 10.5 (1.4-24.5) versus 0.4 (0.0-9.7)]; P < 0.001). Because we were unable to determine whether this difference was due to ongoing inflammati…

Airway neutrophilia in COPD is not associated with increased neutrophil survival

Neutrophilic airway inflammation is a prominent feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and correlates with disease severity. The mechanisms that determine the extent of neutrophilia could involve increased influx or prolonged survival of neutrophils. The aim of the study was to assess whether neutrophil pro-survival mechanisms are increased in the airways of subjects with COPD owing to the presence of anti-apoptotic factors in the bronchial lining fluid. Induced sputum samples were collected from 20 subjects with stable COPD, 14 healthy smokers and 14 healthy controls. Quantification of apoptotic neutrophils was based on typical morphological cell changes. Anti-apoptotic, p…

Cabbage and fermented vegetables: from death rate heterogeneity in countries to candidates for mitigation strategies of severe COVID-19

International audience; Large differences in COVID-19 death rates exist between countries and between regions of the same country. Some very low death rate countries such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, or the Balkans have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods. Although biases exist when examining ecological studies, fermented vegetables or cabbage have been associated with low death rates in European countries. SARS-CoV-2 binds to its receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). As a result of SARS-CoV-2 binding, ACE2 downregulation enhances the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1 R) axis associated with oxidative stress. This leads to insulin resistance …

Predicting Responders to Reslizumab after 16 Weeks of Treatment Using an Algorithm Derived from Clinical Studies of Patients with Severe Eosinophilic Asthma.

Reslizumab is a humanized anti-IL-5 monoclonal antibody used as add-on maintenance treatment for patients with uncontrolled eosinophilic asthma.To predict response and nonresponse to intravenous reslizumab at 52 weeks with an algorithm we developed based on clinical indicators from pivotal clinical trials.Patients aged 18 years and older who met Global Initiative for Asthma 4 or 5 criteria and received intravenous reslizumab (n = 321) in two trials ( www.clinicaltrials.gov identifiers, NCT01287039 and NCT01285323) were selected as the data source. A mathematical model was constructed that was based on change from baseline to 16 weeks in Asthma Control Questionnaire and Asthma Quality of Lif…