Publications by authors named "Izquierdo E"

Rationale: Biologics are becoming increasingly important in the management of severe asthma. However, little is known about the systemic immunometabolic consequences of Th2 response blockage.

Objectives: To provide a better immunometabolic understanding of the effects of mepolizumab and omalizumab treatments by identifying potential biomarkers for monitoring.

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Macrophages in the B cell lymphoma microenvironment represent a functional node in progression and therapeutic response. We assessed metabolic regulation of macrophages in the context of therapeutic antibody-mediated phagocytosis. Pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) inhibition induces increased phagocytic lymphoma cell clearance by macrophages in vitro, in primary human chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patient co-cultures, and in mouse models.

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Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs), including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), represent significant global health challenges, contributing to substantial morbidity and mortality. As the prevalence of CRDs continues to rise, particularly in low-income countries, there is a pressing need for more efficient and personalized approaches to diagnosis and treatment. This article explores the impact of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), on the management of CRDs.

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This study aims to develop a Machine Learning model to assess the risks faced by COVID-19 patients in a hospital setting, focusing specifically on predicting the complications leading to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission or mortality, which are minority classes compared to the majority class of discharged patients. We operate within a multiclass framework comprising three distinct classes, and address the challenge of dataset imbalance, a common source of model bias. To effectively manage this, we introduce the Multi-Thresholding meta-algorithm (MTh), an innovative output-level methodology that extends traditional thresholding from binary to multiclass classification.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on hospitalized patients aged 80 and older with COVID-19 to describe their clinical symptoms and identify predictors for death and complications during different waves of the epidemic.
  • A total of 1,192 patients were analyzed, revealing common symptoms like fever, cough, and dyspnea, along with serious complications such as acute respiratory distress syndrome and a high overall mortality rate of 41.4%.
  • Key risk factors for complications and death included age, existing health conditions (like diabetes and heart failure), specific lab findings, while better functional status (measured by the Barthel index) and the presence of cough offered some protective benefits.
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The mechanisms underlying severe allergic asthma are complex and unknown, meaning it is a challenge to provide the most appropriate treatment. This study aimed to identify novel biomarkers for stratifying allergic asthmatic patients according to severity, and to uncover the biological mechanisms that lead to the development of the severe uncontrolled phenotype. By using miRNA PCR panels, we analyzed the expression of 752 miRNAs in serum samples from control subjects ( = 15) and mild ( = 11) and severe uncontrolled ( = 10) allergic asthmatic patients.

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Cardiac amyloidosis is a cardiomyopathy resulting from the extracellular deposition of proteins such as transthyretin (TTR). We present the case of a 72-year-old male with hereditary cardiac amyloidosis. After confirming the diagnosis, tafamidis, a TTR stabilizer, was administered.

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Persistent and unresolved inflammation is a common underlying factor observed in several and seemingly unrelated human diseases, including cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Particularly, in atopic conditions, acute inflammatory responses such as those triggered by insect venom, food or drug allergies possess also a life-threatening potential. However, respiratory allergies predominantly exhibit late immune responses associated with chronic inflammation, that can eventually progress into a severe phenotype displaying similar features as those observed in other chronic inflammatory diseases, as is the case of uncontrolled severe asthma.

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Background: The term gliomatosis cerebri (GC), a radiology-defined highly infiltrating diffuse glioma, has been abandoned since molecular GC-associated features could not be established.

Methods: We conducted a multinational retrospective study of 104 children and adolescents with GC providing comprehensive clinical and (epi-)genetic characterization.

Results: Median overall survival (OS) was 15.

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Cancer-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are capable of modifying the tumor microenvironment and promoting tumor progression. Ovarian cancer (OvCa) is a lethal malignancy that preferentially spreads through the abdominal cavity. Thus, the secretion of such vesicles into the peritoneal fluid could be a determinant factor in the dissemination and behavior of this disease.

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Epidemiological studies have explored the relationship between allergic diseases and cancer risk or prognosis in AllergoOncology. Some studies suggest an inverse association, but uncertainties remain, including in IgE-mediated diseases and glioma. Allergic disease stems from a Th2-biased immune response to allergens in predisposed atopic individuals.

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Efficacious, effective and efficient communication between healthcare professionals (HCP) and patients is essential to achieve a successful therapeutic alliance. Telemedicine (TM) has been used for decades but during the COVID-19 pandemic its use has become widespread. This position paper aims to describe the terminology and most important forms of TM among HCP and patients and review the existing studies on the uses of TM for asthma and allergy.

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We offer three advances to the perceptual crossing simulation studies, which are aimed at challenging methodological individualism in the analysis of social cognition. First, we evolve and systematically test agents in rigorous conditions, identifying a set of 26 "robust circuits" with consistently high and generalizing performance. Next, we transform the sensor from discrete to continuous, facilitating a bifurcation analysis of the dynamics that shows that nonequilibrium dynamics are key to the mutual maintenance of interaction.

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Purpose: There is great controversy about the etiologic origin of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Multiple theories have been suggested, including metabolic aspects, endocrine dysfunction, neurological central abnormalities, genetic predisposition and epigenetic factors involved in the development of scoliosis. However, there has always been speculations based on human biomechanical behavior.

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Article Synopsis
  • Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common type of cancer in children, with over 85% surviving, though 15% may relapse and face worse outcomes.
  • To address the challenges of relapsed or refractory ALL (R/R ALL), the Relapsed ALL Network (ReALLNet) was established in 2021, connecting healthcare providers and expert groups to enhance patient care through research.
  • ReALLNet aims to create a comprehensive system for collecting biological data and patient outcomes, while also storing patient samples in a biobank, to support advances in precision medicine for children with R/R ALL.
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Women with schizophrenia have specific health needs that differ from those of men and that change through successive life stages. We aimed to review the biopsychosocial literature on schizophrenia that addresses clinically important questions related to the treatment of women, including somatic morbi-mortality, hyperprolactinemia, comorbid substance use disorders, social risk factors, and medication effectiveness/safety. Data search terms were as follows: (Morbidity AND mortality) OR hyperprolactinemia OR ("substance use disorders" OR addictions) OR ("social risk factors") OR ("drug safety" OR prescription) AND women AND schizophrenia.

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The resolution of inflammation is a complex process that is critical for removing inflammatory cells and restoring tissue function. The dysregulation of these mechanisms leads to chronic inflammatory disorders. Platelets, essential cells for preserving homeostasis, are thought to play a role in inflammation as they are a source of immunomodulatory factors.

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Social risk factors are long-term or repeated environmental exposures in childhood and youth that change the brain and may, via epigenetic effects, change gene expression. They thus have the power to initiate or aggravate mental disorders. Because these effects can be mediated via hormonal or immune/inflammatory pathways that differ between men and women, their influence is often sex-specific.

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Article Synopsis
  • Scientists are trying to understand why some people with severe allergies have ongoing inflammation in their bodies, but it’s still a mystery.
  • They studied T cells (a type of immune cell) from allergic asthma patients and found that those with severe allergies showed different behaviors and changes in their genes compared to mild patients and healthy people.
  • The severe allergic patients had fewer working genes related to energy production, but more genes that cause inflammation, suggesting their immune system isn't regulating itself properly.
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Background: Mechanisms causing the onset and perpetuation of inflammation in severe allergic patients remain unknown. Our previous studies suggested that severe allergic inflammation is linked to platelet dysfunction.

Methods: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-poor plasma (PPP) samples were obtained by platelet-apheresis from severe (n = 7) and mild (n = 10) allergic patients and nonallergic subjects (n = 9) to perform platelet lipidomics by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and RNA-seq analysis.

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Introduction: The profiles of patients with COVID-19 have been widely studied, but little is known about differences in baseline characteristics and in outcomes between subjects with a ceiling of care assigned at hospital admission and subjects without a ceiling of care. The aim of this study is to compare, by ceiling of care, clinical features and outcomes of hospitalized subjects during four waves of COVID-19 in a metropolitan area in Catalonia.

Methods: Observational study conducted during the first (March-April 2020), second (October-November 2020), third (January-February 2021), and fourth wave (July-August 2021) of COVID-19 in five centers of Catalonia.

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Introduction: Resistance to antibiotics is a growing problem with repercussions on the choice of first-line treatment in urinary tract infection (UTI) in childhood.

Objectives: To know the current pattern of antibiotic susceptibility/resistance of the most frequent germs that cause UTI in our healthcare area. Secondary objective is to know the evolution of these patterns over time.

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Ceramides (Cer) are bioactive sphingolipids that have been proposed as potential disease biomarkers since they are involved in several cellular stress responses, including apoptosis and senescence. 1-Deoxyceramides (1-deoxyCer), a particular subtype of noncanonical sphingolipids, have been linked to the pathogenesis of type II diabetes. To investigate the metabolism of these bioactive lipids, as well as to have a better understanding of the signaling processes where they participate, it is essential to expand the toolbox of fluorescent sphingolipid probes exhibiting complementary subcellular localization.

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