Patients with allergic and eosinophilic asthma in the German severe asthma registry

Targeted treatment strategies for asthma require a precise diagnosis of phenotypes. 308 adult patients (age mean±SD: 50.3±13.5yrs) with severe asthma from the German Severe Asthma Registry (www.german-asthma-net.de) were evaluated based on history of allergy symptoms, results of skin prick tests, total/specific IgE, and blood cell differentials. 121 patients (39%) showed typical signs of allergic asthma including allergic symptoms and a positive skin prick test and/or specific IgE with no elevated blood eosinophils (median total IgE: 222 (range 4-4023) IU/ml, eosinophils: 128 (0-295)/µl, FeNO: 23 (7-300) ppb). 53 (43.8%) of these patients were treated with omalizumab. 50 patients (16%) had …

Co-option of Neutrophil Fates by Tissue Environments

Classically considered short-lived and purely defensive leukocytes, neutrophils are unique in their fast and moldable response to stimulation. This plastic behavior may underlie variable and even antagonistic functions during inflammation or cancer, yet the full spectrum of neutrophil properties as they enter healthy tissues remains unexplored. Using a new model to track neutrophil fates, we found short but variable lifetimes across multiple tissues. Through analysis of the receptor, transcriptional, and chromatin accessibility landscapes, we identify varying neutrophil states and assign non-canonical functions, including vascular repair and hematopoietic homeostasis. Accordingly, depletion…

The Severe Asthma Registry – German data

Patients with severe persistent asthma represent the highest unmet medical need among the asthmatic population. To improve the understanding of underlying mechanisms and disease progression the German Asthma Net (GAN, www.german-asthma-net.de) launched a Severe Asthma Registry in December 2011. Enrolled patients undergo detailed clinical and physiologic evaluations, including patients’ medical history, allergy and lung function tests, blood analyses as well as past and concomitant medication and comorbidities. Patients are followed up every year. As of February 2018, 1097 subjects were recruited in Germany, Austria, and Slovenia. The mean age±SEM of the 839 German adult patients is 50.6±0.5…

The Selaginella Genome Identifies Genetic Changes Associated with the Evolution of Vascular Plants

International audience; Vascular plants appeared ~410 million years ago, then diverged into several lineages of which only two survive: the euphyllophytes (ferns and seed plants) and the lycophytes. We report here the genome sequence of the lycophyte Selaginella moellendorffii (Selaginella), the first nonseed vascular plant genome reported. By comparing gene content in evolutionarily diverse taxa, we found that the transition from a gametophyte- to a sporophyte-dominated life cycle required far fewer new genes than the transition from a nonseed vascular to a flowering plant, whereas secondary metabolic genes expanded extensively and in parallel in the lycophyte and angiosperm lineages. Sela…

Psychometric properties of the updated EORTC module for assessing quality of life in patients with lung cancer (QLQ-LC29): an international, observational field study

Abstract: Background The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire-Lung Cancer 13 (QLQ-LC13) assesses quality of life (QOL) in patients with lung cancer and was the first EORTC module developed for use in international clinical trials. Since its publication in 1994, major treatment advances with possible effects on QOL have occurred. These changes called for an update of the module and its international psychometric validation. We aimed to investigate the scale structure and psychometric properties of the updated lung cancer module, QLQ-LC29, in patients with lung cancer. Methods This international, observational field study was done in…

Onset of effect and impact on health-related quality of life, exacerbation rate, lung function, and nasal polyposis symptoms for patients with severe eosinophilic asthma treated with benralizumab (ANDHI): a randomised, controlled, phase 3b trial

Background: ANDHI was done to assess the efficacy of benralizumab, including onset of effect and impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL), exacerbation rate, lung function, and nasal polyposis symptoms. Methods: This phase 3b, randomised, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled ANDHI study was completed in adults (aged 18–75 years) with severe eosinophilic asthma with at least 2 exacerbations in the previous year, despite high-dose inhaled corticosteroid plus additional controllers, screening blood eosinophil counts of at least 150 cells per μL, and an Asthma Control Questionnaire 6 (ACQ-6) score of 1·5 or more. Patients who met eligibility criteria were randomly assigned (…

189TiP Phase IV trial of afatinib followed by osimertinib versus osimertinib alone as first-line treatment in patients (pts) with advanced EGFR mutation-positive (EGFRm+) NSCLC

Type 2-High and Type 2-Low Airway Inflammation in Severe Asthma

Riociguat treatment in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension: Final safety data from the EXPERT registry

OBJECTIVE: The soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator riociguat is approved for the treatment of adult patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and inoperable or persistent/recurrent chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension following Phase 3 randomized trials. The EXPosurE Registry RiociguaT in patients with pulmonary hypertension (EXPERT) study was designed to monitor the long-term safety of riociguat in clinical practice. METHODS: EXPERT was an international, multicenter, prospective, uncontrolled, non-interventional cohort study of patients treated with riociguat. Patients were followed for at least 1 year and up to 4 years from enrollment or until 30 days after stopping ri…