1-year prospective real life monitoring of asthma control and quality of life in Italy.

Objectives: The study aimed at prospectively evaluating the evolution of asthma control in Italy, to evaluate the reasons for lack of asthma control, perceived quality of life (QoL) and association with level of asthma control, the impact of pharmacological treatment, the number of exacerbations and the healthcare resource consumption.

Methods: PRISMA (PRospectIve Study on asthMA control) was an observational study performed in asthmatic patients including a cross-sectional phase and a 12-month prospective phase. Asthma control was assessed with the Asthma Control Test™ (ACT) and QoL was evaluated with EuroQoL-5D questionnaire filled in and collected during 5 clinic visits together with all the other data.

How air pollution influences clinical management of respiratory diseases. A case-crossover study in Milan.

Background: Environmental pollution is a known risk factor for multiple diseases and furthermore increases rate of hospitalisations. We investigated the correlation between emergency room admissions (ERAs) of the general population for respiratory diseases and the environmental pollutant levels in Milan, a metropolis in northern Italy.

Methods: We collected data from 45770 ERAs for respiratory diseases.

Hyaluronic acid : perspectives in lung diseases.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a non-sulphated glycosaminoglycan. It is a natural polymer characterised by a coiled linear chain in particularly well-hydrated configuration composed of repeating disaccaride units. In mammals, its molecular weight can be extremely wide, ranging from 20 to 4,000 kDa.

Seroprevalence of IgG anti-Toxocara species antibodies in a population of patients with suspected allergy.

Background: Toxocara canis is an intestinal nematode affecting dogs and cats, which causes human infection when embryonated eggs excreted in dog feces are ingested. Humans are paratenic hosts. Although the larvae do not develop into adult worms in the human body, they may migrate to various tissues and organs where they can survive for several years, giving rise to several clinical symptoms, which can present in allergy-like form.

Real-life prospective study on asthma control in Italy: cross-sectional phase results.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of partly controlled and uncontrolled asthmatic patients, to evaluate quality of life and healthcare resource consumption.

Methods: Cross-sectional phase followed by a 12-month prospective phase. Asthma Control Test and the EQ-5D were used.

Comorbidity, hospitalization, and mortality in COPD: results from a longitudinal study.

We evaluated comorbidity, hospitalization, and mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with special attention to risk factors for frequent hospitalizations (more than three during the follow-up period), and prognostic factors for death. Two hundred eighty-eight consecutive COPD patients admitted to respiratory medicine wards in four hospitals for acute exacerbation were enrolled from 1999 to 2000 in a prospective longitudinal study, and followed up until December 2007. The Charlson index without age was used to quantify comorbidity.

Evaluating health-related quality of life, work ability, and disability in pulmonary arterial hypertension: an unmet need.

To our knowledge, there are no specific and validated measures of quality of life (QoL) or degree of disability for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). A review of the literature shows that, with the exception of one recently designed specifically for pulmonary hypertension, QoL questionnaires used in PAH studies are generic measures. These are selected because of shared symptoms that do not necessarily correlate well with functional or physiologic measures and have not been validated for applicability in PAH.

Chlamydia pneumoniae and acute aortic syndrome: a call for a multi-institutional study.

Chlamydia Pneumoniae (CP) infection is strongly associated with coronary artery disease, as well as with atherosclerosis of the carotid and peripheral arteries. However, the role of CP in the pathogenesis of aortic disease remains controversial. Our present experience suggests no correlation between a current infection with C.

[Echocardiography and pulmonary arterial hypertension].

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is an heterogeneous condition brought on by a wide range of causes. It is characterized by structural changes in small pulmonary arteries, that produce a progressive increase in pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance, ultimately leading to right ventricle failure and death. Given the non-specific nature of its early symptoms and signs, PAH is often diagnosed in its advanced stages.

Prulifloxacin: a brief review of its potential in the treatment of acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis.

Exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (AECB) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and their impact on public health is increasing. The new fluoroquinolones have an excellent spectrum providing cover for the most important respiratory pathogens, including atypical and "typical" pathogens. Not surprisingly, different guidelines have inserted these agents among the drugs of choice in the empirical therapy of AECB.

Chlamydophila pneumoniae induces a sustained airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation in mice.

Background: It has been reported that Chlamydophila (C.) pneumoniae is involved in the initiation and promotion of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). Surprisingly, the effect of C.

Additional clinical benefit of enoxaparin in COPD patients receiving salmeterol and fluticasone propionate in combination.

It is now well recognised that heparin possesses numerous anti-inflammatory properties in addition to its anticoagulant properties. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the low molecular weight heparin, enoxaparin (ENX), as an add-on therapy for a period of 12 weeks, to inhaled salmeterol/fluticasone propionate (SLM/FP) combination in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Forty-six patients were randomised to receive 12 weeks of treatment in one of two treatment groups: (1) fixed combination of SLM 50 microg and FP 500 microg Diskus, one inhalation twice daily; or (2) as group 1 plus 20 mg ENX administered subcutaneously once daily for 12 weeks.

Anxiety and depression in COPD patients: The roles of gender and disease severity.

Background: The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depression in the whole chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) population and in subgroups according to sex and severity classification. A secondary objective was to evaluate the possible differences between patients with and without a significant high level of anxiety, depression, or both, and finally to find out a correlation between psychological aspects, symptoms, functional parameters, and quality of life (QoL).

Methods: Two hundred and two COPD patients were enrolled.

Prulifloxacin: a new fluoroquinolone for the treatment of acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis.

Empiric therapy with oral antibiotics is normal practice in the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (AECB), but there is growing concern regarding efficacy of the currently available antimicrobials. Prulifloxacin, the lipophilic prodrug of ulifloxacin, is an oral fluoroquinolone antibacterial agent with a broad-spectrum in vitro activity against Gram-negative and -positive bacteria, and a long elimination half-life, which allows the once-daily administration. In addition, it penetrates extensively into lung tissues.

Highlights on the appropriate use of fluoroquinolones in respiratory tract infections.

The impact of respiratory infections on public health is increasing, and lower respiratory tract infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Moreover, most antibiotic prescriptions are related to respiratory infections and this is probably one of the main determinants of the increasing rate of bacterial resistance in both community and hospital settings. This has been the catalyst for the development of new drugs, such as the new fluoroquinolones.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension: the key role of echocardiography.

Given the nonspecific nature of its early symptoms and signs, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is often diagnosed in its advanced stages. Although clinical assessment is essential when initially evaluating patients with suspected PAH, echocardiography is a key screening tool in the diagnostic algorithm. It not only provides an estimate of pulmonary pressure at rest and during exercise, but it may also help to exclude any secondary causes of pulmonary hypertension, predict the prognosis, monitor the efficacy of specific therapeutic interventions, and detect the preclinical stage of the disease.

Sputum color as a marker of acute bacterial exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

We analyzed 795 sputa from 315 patients (233 males, mean age 69.3+/-8.8 years, mean number of exacerbations 2.

Non-phospholipid vesicles for pulmonary glucocorticoid delivery.

In the formulation of inhaled drugs for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), considerable attention has been devoted to new aerosol morphologies which can either enhance the local effect and/or increase the penetration through the mucus, secreted in bronchial inflammatory diseases. In diseases characterized by bronchial hypersecretion, lipophilic substances, such as corticosteroids, can be remarkably impeded in reaching their receptors, which are localized within the cytoplasm of bronchial epithelial cells. Vesicles consisting of one or more surfactant bilayers enclosing aqueous spaces, are of particular interest because they offer several advantages with regard to chemical stability, lower cost and availability of materials compared to conventional liposomes.

Potential role of antibiotics in the treatment of asthma.

Although the role of antibiotic treatment in asthma is still disputed, clinical use of antimicrobials in this setting is more widespread than warranted on the basis of indications in the literature. Viral upper respiratory tract infections are known to be involved in asthma exacerbations. More recently, evidence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae involvement in asthma attacks has been reported both in adult and paediatric populations.

Short-term and long-term outcomes of moxifloxacin compared to standard antibiotic treatment in acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis.

Study Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of oral moxifloxacin with standard antibiotic therapy in acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis (AECB).

Design: Multicenter, multinational, randomized, double-blind study of two parallel treatment arms.

Patients: Outpatients >or= 45 years old with stable chronic bronchitis, smoking history of >or= 20 pack-years, two or more AECBs in the previous year, and FEV(1) < 85% of predicted value.

High levels of interleukin-6 in the exhaled breath condensate of patients with COPD.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract.

Methods: We investigated the presence of interleukin-6 (IL-6: a cytokine secreted by monocytes/macrophages, T cells, B cells, fibroblasts, bone marrow stromal cells, keratinocytes and endothelial cells) in the exhaled breath condensate of 16 exsmokers with moderate COPD, 12 healthy non-smokers. IL-6 was measured by means of a specific enzyme immunoassay.

Therapeutic potential of the new quinolones in the treatment of lower respiratory tract infections.

The impact of respiratory infections on public health is increasing and lower respiratory tract infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. We are also facing a worldwide burst of antibiotic bacterial resistance. The new fluoroquinolones have an excellent spectrum covering the most important respiratory pathogens, including atypical and 'typical' pathogens.