: Severe allergic asthma is usually treated with omalizumab; however, this drug may not be effective for every patient. By its action, dupilumab could be an alternative in these patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of dupilumab in patients with severe allergic asthma, non-responsive to omalizumab, according to the maintenance of their oral corticosteroid (OCS) dose, an exacerbation rate decrease, or poor control of the disease, despite optimized treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A transient and usually asymptomatic increase in blood eosinophil count (BEC) associated with dupilumab treatment has been described. Predicting factors related to the increase in BEC and the occurrence of symptoms are still poorly investigated.
Objective: To investigate frequency, timing, duration, clinical relevance, and potential predictors of the increase in BEC in a real-life multicenter cohort of patients affected by asthma and/or chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) treated with dupilumab.
Benralizumab is an anti-IL-5 receptor alpha monoclonal antibody that induces the near-complete depletion of eosinophils. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term safety and effectiveness of benralizumab in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) over an extended 48-month follow-up period, offering one of the longest real-world perspectives available. This was a single-arm, retrospective, observational, multicenter study involving 123 SEA patients treated with benralizumab at a dosage of 30 mg every 4 weeks for the first 3 doses and then every 8 weeks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Benralizumab is a monoclonal antibody treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA). Few studies investigated its role in airway inflammation and its correlation with lung function.
Objectives: The aim of the present study is to assess its effect after 1 year of treatment, focusing on airway inflammation.
Background: In its severe form, where possible, asthma is treated using biological drugs in order to reduce, as much as possible, the use of systemic steroids. Mepolizumab is effective for severe asthma based on key outcomes such as exacerbation and steroid dependence. Its efficacy in terms of the criteria for clinical remission in the short and long term has become of interest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Patients' perceptions of asthma symptoms, and attitudes regarding diagnosis and management, can affect their ability to reach good asthma control. The aim of the study was to explore patients' perceptions of asthma management, with focus on treatment with oral corticosteroids (OCS).
Methods: A DOXAPHARMA survey was conducted.
Clin Transl Allergy
March 2024
Dupilumab is currently approved for the treatment of Type 2 severe asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). Few studies have specifically reported on dupilumab efficacy on asthma outcomes as a primary objective in a real-life setting, in patients with and without CRSwNP. Our study aimed to explore the efficacy of dupilumab on functional, inflammatory, and patient-reported outcomes in asthma patients across different disease phenotypes and severity, including mild-to-moderate asthma coexisting with CRSwNP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Endocrinol (Lausanne)
November 2023
Purpose: To characterize patients with APS type 4 among those affected by APS diagnosed and monitored at our local Reference Center for Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndromes.
Methods: Monocentric observational retrospective study enrolling patients affected by APS diagnosed and monitored in a Reference Center. Clinical records were retrieved and analyzed.
SARS-CoV-2 infection impairs functional outcomes and quality of life, even in its mild-to-moderate form. Therefore, it is appropriate to draw attention to the role played by respiratory rehabilitation and physiotherapists in the pulmonary rehabilitation process that post-SARS-CoV-2 patients must undergo. We enrolled 80 patients in a prospective case-control study; 40 cases (mild-to-moderate post-SARS-CoV-2 infection patients) and 38 control subjects (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe combination of noradrenergic (reboxetine) plus antimuscarinic (oxybutynin) drugs (reb-oxy) reduced obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity but no data are available on its effects on cardiac autonomic modulation. We sought to evaluate the impact of 1-week reb-oxy treatment on cardiovascular autonomic control in OSA patients. OSA patients were randomized to a double-blind, crossover trial comparing 4 mg reboxetine plus 5 mg oxybutynin to a placebo for OSA treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: The prevention of pulmonary toxicity is an important goal for patient candidate to radiation therapy for lung cancer. There is a lack of evidence on the role of exercise training for patients with unresectable stage III lung cancer candidated to radical treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a home-based pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) program and to identify reliable tools in terms of respiratory function, exercise capacity and quality of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The evaluation of COVID-19 systemic consequences is a wide research field in which respiratory function assessment has a pivotal role. However, the available data in the literature are still sparse and need further strengthening.
Aim: To assess respiratory function 4-6 months after hospital discharge based on lung disease severity in patients who overcome COVID-19 pneumonia.
J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown)
October 2022
Alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT) is one of the major inhibitors involved in protease/antiprotease homeostasis, and it is mainly produced by hepatocytes and pulmonary epithelial cells. Its deficiency, called alpha1-antitrypsin deficit (AATD), leads to severe hepatic and respiratory issues. Also, AAT is released into the bloodstream providing systemic anti-inflammatory effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchial responsiveness after acute administration of short acting bronchodilators is conventionally assessed by measuring the improvement of forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV) during a maximal forced expiratory maneuver. This study aimed to measure the variation of intrathoracic airway wall compliance (AWC) after acute administration of short acting beta-2 agonist in COPD patients since this might influence the final modification of airway caliber during maximal expiratory effort and the resulting bronchodilation as inferred by FEV changes.
Methods: In a group of 10 patients suffering from COPD, intrathoracic AWC was measured at middle (50% of Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) and low (75% of FVC) lung volumes using the interrupter method during forced expiratory maneuver in basal conditions and after acute inhalation of albuterol (salbutamol) (400 mcg by MDI).
Objectives: Lung ultrasound (LUS) might be comparable to chest computed tomography (CT) in detecting parenchymal and pleural pathology, and in monitoring interstitial lung disease. We aimed to describe LUS characteristics of patients during the hospitalization for COVID-19 pneumonia, and to compare the extent of lung involvement at LUS and chest-CT with inflammatory response and the severity of respiration impairment.
Methods: During a 2-week period, we performed LUS and chest CT in hospitalized patients affected by COVID-19 pneumonia.
Objective: The prevalence of asthma in Italy is estimated to be around 4%; it affects approximately 2,000,000 citizens, and up to 80-90% of patients have mild-to-moderate asthma. Despite the clinical relevance of mild-to-moderate asthma, longitudinal observational data are very limited, including data on disease progression (worsening vs. improvement), the response to treatment, and prognosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe presence of Alpha1-Antitrypsin (AAT) polymers, known to promote a sustained pro-inflammatory activity, has been previously demonstrated in bronchial biopsies of subjects with Z-AAT deficiency (AATD) suggesting a possible role in the development of COPD through a small airway disease impairment. The study aimed to assess the presence of small airways dysfunction and the potential correlation with the presence of Z-AAT polymers obtained by Exhaled Breath Condensate (EBC) collection in PiZZ subjects, as compared with matched healthy PiMM subjects. We enrolled 19 asymptomatic, never smoker subjects: 9 PiZZ and 10 PiMM as controls, without obstructive ventilatory defect (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Alpha-1-Antitrypsin (AAT) is one of the major plasmatic protease inhibitors. In the last decade, an association between Alpha-1-Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD) and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA) has been hypothesized. Multiple factors may be involved in AAA's etiopathogenesis, and an underlying structural defect of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is always present.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAllergy Asthma Clin Immunol
August 2021
Background: Physical effort is capable of triggering airway obstruction in asthmatics, the so-called exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in asthma (EIBa). This study was performed in subjects with mild persistent asthma, aiming to find predictors for developing EIBa.
Methods: In 20 subjects with mild asthma, measurements of baseline functional respiratory parameters and airways responsiveness by a methacholine challenge were obtained on the first day.