Burden of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis in Europe.

Background And Aims: Real-world evidence characterising the burden of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) in Europe is limited. The aim of this study was to characterise patients in a large European EGPA cohort.

Methods: This retrospective, non-interventional, longitudinal study (GSK ID: 214661) recruited cross-specialty physicians from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK to conduct medical chart reviews for patients with a physician-confirmed diagnosis of EGPA.

Mepolizumab has clinical benefits including oral corticosteroid sparing irrespective of baseline EGPA characteristics.

Background: The Mepolizumab in Relapsing or Refractory EGPA (MIRRA) trial (GSK ID: 115921/NCT02020889) demonstrated that mepolizumab increased remission time and reduced oral corticosteroid (OCS) use compared with placebo in patients with relapsing or refractory eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA). The present analysis investigated the impact of baseline characteristics on clinical outcomes and characterised the OCS-sparing effect of mepolizumab.

Methods: In a phase 3, randomised controlled trial for patients with EGPA (MIRRA), patients received standard of care plus mepolizumab 300 mg or placebo every 4 weeks for 52 weeks.

HES and EGPA: Two Sides of the Same Coin.

Elevated eosinophil counts are implicated in multiple diseases, from relatively prevalent organ-specific disorders such as severe eosinophilic asthma, to rare multisystem disorders such as hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) and eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA). Patients with these multisystem diseases, often associated with markedly elevated eosinophil counts, have a substantial risk of morbidity and mortality due to delayed diagnosis or inadequate treatment. A thorough workup of symptomatic patients presenting with elevated eosinophil counts is essential, although in some cases the differential diagnosis may remain difficult because of overlapping presentations between HES and EGPA.

Clinical Benefit of Mepolizumab in Eosinophilic Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis for Patients With and Without a Vasculitic Phenotype.

Objective: To evaluate mepolizumab's efficacy in eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) with and without a vasculitic phenotype.

Methods: The MIRRA study (NCT02020889/GSK ID: 115921) included adults with relapsing/refractory EGPA and 4 or more weeks of stable oral glucocorticoids (OG). Patients received mepolizumab (300 mg subcutaneously every 4 weeks) or placebo, plus standard of care for 52 weeks.

What bothers severe asthma patients most? A paired patient-clinician study across seven European countries.

Introduction: Severe asthma is a complex, multidimensional disease. Optimal treatment, adherence and outcomes require shared decision-making, rooted in mutual understanding between patient and clinician. This study used a novel, patient-centred approach to examine the most bothersome aspects of severe asthma to patients, as seen from both perspectives in asthma registries.

Hypereosinophilic syndrome in Europe: Retrospective study of treatment patterns, clinical manifestations, and healthcare resource utilization.

Background: The burden of hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) in Europe is not well characterized.

Objective: To evaluate real-world patient characteristics, treatment patterns, clinical manifestations, and healthcare resource utilization for patients with HES from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Methods: In this retrospective, noninterventional study, data for patients with a physician-confirmed diagnosis of HES were abstracted from medical chart reviews.

Characterization of disease flares and impact of mepolizumab in patients with hypereosinophilic syndrome.

Unlabelled: In patients with hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES), mepolizumab reduces the incidence of HES-related clinical signs and symptoms (flares). However, reports characterizing flare manifestations are limited. The double-blind, parallel-group 200622 trial (NCT02836496) enrolled patients ≥12 years old with HES for ≥6 months, ≥2 flares in the previous year, and screening blood eosinophil count ≥1000 cells/μL.

Association Between Baseline Therapy and Flare Reduction in Mepolizumab-Treated Patients With Hypereosinophilic Syndrome.

Background: Current standard-of-care treatments for hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) include oral corticosteroids (OCS) and immunosuppressive/cytotoxic (IS/CT) therapies. The anti-IL-5 monoclonal antibody mepolizumab has also recently been approved for patients with this disease. The objective of this analysis was to assess the relationship between baseline therapy and flare reduction in patients with HES treated with mepolizumab, using data from the Phase III 200622 study (NCT02836496).

Clinical Profile and Treatment in Hypereosinophilic Syndrome Variants: A Pragmatic Review.

Background: Hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) is a group of rare hematologic disorders leading to eosinophil-driven tissue damage and dysfunction. Better understanding of HES variants may facilitate improved patient management.

Objective: To describe disease characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of patients with idiopathic (I-HES), myeloproliferative (M-HES), lymphocytic (L-HES), and chronic eosinophilic leukemia, not otherwise specified (CEL-NOS) among HES case reports and aggregate data where available.

Inadequate housing and pulmonary tuberculosis: a systematic review.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a global health issue that has long threatened and continues to threaten human health. While previous studies are important in the search for a cure for TB, to eradicate the disease it is also crucial to analyze environmental influences. Therefore, this study determined the potential effect of inadequate housing on TB and the magnitude of the effect.

Methylammonium Compensation Effects in MAPbI Perovskite Solar Cells for High-Quality Inorganic CuSCN Hole Transport Layers.

Recent studies have demonstrated that copper (I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) has huge potential as a hole extraction material (HEM) for perovskite solar cells. Here, we used CuSCN as a HEM and analyzed its relationships with a methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI) perovskite layer. The CuSCN dissolved in diethyl sulfide (DES) was spin-coated on the MAPbI layer.

Depression Severity Detection Using Read Speech with a Divide-and-Conquer Approach.

We propose a divide-and-conquer approach to detect depression severity using speech. We divide speech features based on their attributes, i.e.

Near-Infrared Self-Powered Linearly Polarized Photodetection and Digital Incoherent Holography Using WSe/ReSe van der Waals Heterostructure.

Polarization-sensitive photodetection has attracted considerable attention as an emerging technology for future optoelectronic applications such as three-dimensional (3D) imaging, quantum optics, and encryption. However, traditional photodetectors based on Si or III-V InGaAs semiconductors cannot directly detect polarized light without additional optical components. Herein, we demonstrate a self-powered linear-polarization-sensitive near-infrared (NIR) photodetector using a two-dimensional WSe/ReSe van der Waals heterostructure.

Blood eosinophil counts in the general population and airways disease: a comprehensive review and meta-analysis.

Background: The clinical context for using blood eosinophil (EOS) counts as treatment-response biomarkers in asthma and COPD requires better understanding of EOS distributions and ranges. We describe EOS distributions and ranges published in asthma, COPD, control (non-asthma/COPD) and general populations.

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature review and meta-analysis of observational studies (January 2008 to November 2018) that included EOS counts in asthma, severe asthma, COPD, control and general populations.

Burden of illness associated with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a rare disease associated with vascular inflammation and multisystem organ damage. The literature reporting EGPA incidence or prevalence is limited. We performed a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to describe the incidence, prevalence, and disease burden associated with EGPA.

"How are you?" Estimation of anxiety, sleep quality, and mood using computational voice analysis.

We developed a method of estimating impactors of cognitive function (ICF) - such as anxiety, sleep quality, and mood - using computational voice analysis. Clinically validated questionnaires (VQs) were used to score anxiety, sleep and mood while salient voice features were extracted to train regression models with deep neural networks. Experiments with 203 subjects showed promising results with significant concordance correlation coefficients (CCC) between actual VQ scores and the predicted scores (0.

Efficacy and safety of mepolizumab in Korean patients with severe eosinophilic asthma from the DREAM and MENSA studies.

Background/aims: The efficacy and safety of mepolizumab in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma has been evaluated in a global clinical trial programme. This post hoc analysis assesses the efficacy and safety of mepolizumab in Korean patients.

Methods: Data from Korean patients in the Phase III, placebo-controlled, randomised DREAM (MEA112997/NCT01000506) and MENSA (MEA115588/ NCT01691521) studies were included.

Factors that affect blood eosinophil counts in a non-asthmatic population: Post hoc analysis of data from Brazil.

Background: Improved understanding of the normal range of blood eosinophil counts (BEC) and conditions that influence them in non-asthmatic individuals should allow more accurate estimation of the threshold at which eosinophilic disease should be considered, diagnosed, and treated. This analysis investigated the impact of atopy, smoking, and parasitic infection on BEC.

Methods: This was a post hoc analysis of non-asthmatic subjects from a case-control study (CONEP 450/10) conducted at the Program for Control of Asthma in Bahia (ProAR).

Baseline blood eosinophil count as a predictor of treatment response to the licensed dose of mepolizumab in severe eosinophilic asthma.

Background: Previous analyses examining the relationship between blood eosinophil count and mepolizumab treatment effects in severe eosinophilic asthma have used a range of doses and administration routes.

Methods: This post hoc meta-analysis included data from the MENSA (MEA115588/NCT01691521) and MUSCA (200862/NCT02281318) trials. Patients (≥12 years) with severe eosinophilic asthma who experienced ≥2 exacerbations in the prior year received either mepolizumab 100 mg subcutaneously (SC) or 75 mg intravenously, or placebo plus standard of care every 4 weeks.