Impact of patient support programmes among patients with severe asthma treated with biological therapies: a systematic literature review and indirect treatment comparison.

Introduction: Effective treatment of severe asthma requires patient adherence to inhaled and biological medications. Previous work has shown that patient support programmes (PSP) can improve adherence in patients with chronic diseases, but the impact of PSPs in patients with severe asthma treated with biologics has not been thoroughly investigated.

Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review to understand the impact of PSPs on treatment adherence, asthma control and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with severe asthma.

Reduction of daily maintenance inhaled corticosteroids in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma treated with benralizumab (SHAMAL): a randomised, multicentre, open-label, phase 4 study.

Background: Stepwise intensification of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) is routine for severe eosinophilic asthma, despite some poor responses to high-dose ICS. Dose reductions are recommended in patients responding to biologics, but little supporting safety evidence exists.

Methods: SHAMAL was a phase 4, randomised, open-label, active-controlled study done at 22 study sites in four countries.

The effect of voice disorders on lexical tone variation: Exploratory study in an African language.

: The aim was to determine if the presence of a voice disorder in speakers of Setswana, an African tone language, will negatively impact the accuracy of identification by typical first language judges of words belonging to tonal minimal pairs.: A quasi-experimental between-group comparison and individual case studies were conducted. Five participants with different types and degrees of voice disorders and nine control participants produced 10 tonal minimal word pairs.

Alcohol exposure during pregnancy altered childhood developmental trajectories in a rural South African community.

Aim: This study examined the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on childhood development trajectories in a rural South African community between 2003 and 2008.

Methods: We assessed 121 children at 7-12 months (year one) and 5-6 years (year five) using the Griffiths Mental Developmental Scales - Extended Revised, which measures sensorimotor, cognitive and social development, with lower scores indicating developmental delay. We also interviewed their mothers or caregivers.