Biomarker-guided withdrawal of inhaled corticosteroids in asthma patients with a non-T2 inflammatory phenotype - a randomized controlled trial study protocol.

Background: Non-T2 asthma is characterized by the absence of elevated type 2 inflammatory biomarkers such as blood-eosinophils, total and allergen-specific Immunoglobulin E and Fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO). According to guidelines, inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are the cornerstone of asthma management. However, ICS treatment is associated with a risk of local side effects, including hoarseness and thrush, and long-term high-dose therapy may cause systemic adverse effects.

Airway Hyperresponsiveness to Inhaled Mannitol Identifies a Cluster of Noneosinophilic Asthma Patients with High Symptom Burden.

Background: Patients with asthma are heterogeneous in clinical presentation and in response to treatment. Despite this, tools to guide treatment are limited and include mainly measures of eosinophilic inflammation and symptoms. Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) to mannitol is present in patients across inflammatory phenotypes and improve with inhaled corticosteroids.

Stability of FeNO and airway hyperresponsiveness to mannitol in untreated asthmatics.

Objective: Airway hyperresponsiveness and airway inflammation are important hallmarks of asthma and are useful in asthma diagnosing, monitoring and treatment. The aim of the study was to assess whether two commonly used clinical tests, the mannitol challenge and Fraction of exhaled NO (FeNO), were stable clinical indicators over time in stable untreated asthmatics.

Methods: 54 non-smoking, asthma patients not treated with steroids were enrolled in the study and assessed at baseline and a median of 6 months later.

Smoking Cessation and the Microbiome in Induced Sputum Samples from Cigarette Smoking Asthma Patients.

Asthma is a common disease causing cough, wheezing and shortness of breath. It has been shown that the lung microbiota in asthma patients is different from the lung microbiota in healthy controls suggesting that a connection between asthma and the lung microbiome exists. Individuals with asthma who are also tobacco smokers experience more severe asthma symptoms and smoking cessation is associated with improved asthma control.

The effect of Varenicline on smoking cessation in a group of young asthma patients.

Background: Tobacco use causes long-term morbidity and mortality. In patients with asthma, the frequency of smokers is high; however, asthmatic smokers experience more pronounced symptoms, accelerated loss of lung function and treatment resistance. Varenicline is an effective drug in smoking cessation, when investigated in COPD patients and general populations.

Emerging corticosteroid agonists for the treatment of asthma.

Introduction: Asthma is one of the most frequent chronic diseases worldwide. For decades, asthma has been treated with bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). However, adverse effects of ICS and disease heterogeneity necessitate improvements in the existing treatment regimes.

Predictors of neutrophilic airway inflammation in young smokers with asthma.

Introduction: Asthma is one of the most widespread chronic diseases worldwide. In spite of numerous detrimental effects on asthma, smoking is common among asthma patients. These smoking-induced aggravations of asthma may be attributed to changes in airway inflammation, which is characterized by a higher degree of neutrophilic inflammation than in non-smokers.

A review of mometasone furoate / formoterol in the treatment of asthma.

Introduction: Asthma is a common chronic respiratory disease affecting the airways causing inflammation, airway hyperreactivity (AHR), and respiratory symptoms. Frequently, asthma can be effectively treated with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) but in more severe cases additional drugs are required, such as long-acting β2-agonists (LABA). Mometasone furoate (MF) is a synthetic steroid exhibiting a strong affinity for the glucocorticoid receptor as well as a low bioavailability and a high plasma protein binding.

[Primary Epstein-Barr virus infections with neurological complications in two middle-aged men].

Primary infections with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) often lead to infectious mononucleosis with sore throat, lymphadenopathy and hepatitis, especially in youngsters. However, neurological complications can occur even in immunocompetent individuals. We report two case stories of two middle-aged men with primary EBV infections who presented severe neurological manifestations of the disease, but both fully recovered.

Morphometric characteristics of the primordial to primary follicle transition in the human ovary in relation to age.

Background: The growth pattern of the smallest ovarian follicles in humans is still incompletely documented. Using follicle hemispheres in thick histological sections, morphometric changes of primordial to primary follicles and possible age-related effects were evaluated.

Methods: In ovarian sections from 25 females aged 4-39 years a total of 1122 primordial, transitory or primary follicles were assessed for the diameters of follicles, oocytes and oocyte nuclei and for number of granulosa cells (GCs).