Loss of regulatory capacity in Treg cells following rhinovirus infection.

Background: Respiratory infections with rhinoviruses (RV) are strongly associated with development and exacerbations of asthma, and they pose an additional health risk for subjects with allergy.

Objective: How RV infections and chronic allergic diseases are linked and what role RV plays in the breaking of tolerance in regulatory T (Treg) cells is unknown. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effects of RV on Treg cells.

Efficacy of ciclesonide in the treatment of patients with asthma exacerbation.

Introduction: Progressing deterioration of the lung function, dyspnoea, cough, wheezing and chest tightness are the main features of asthma exacerbations. The first step in the prevention of severe asthma exacerbations is to intensify the anti-inflammatory treatment with high doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS).

Aim: To assess the efficacy of ciclesonide in patients who have been losing control of asthma despite being treated with medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting β-agonists (LABA) as the second controller.

Changes in blood eosinophilia during omalizumab therapy as a predictor of asthma exacerbation.

Introduction: Omalizumab is a monoclonal anti-immunoglobulin E antibody developed for the treatment of severe allergic asthma. The number of exacerbations used as a parameter of omalizumab therapy efficacy may be insufficient in many cases due to a relatively short time to first evaluation (16 weeks). Therefore, it is advisable to look for parameters of more prognostic value while continuing omalizumab therapy.

Omalizumab treatment in brittle asthma.

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with variable characteristics such as lung function, symptoms and control, body weight, pattern of inflammation, and response to treatment. Brittle asthma is one of clinical phenotypes of asthma with unclear pathogenic mechanisms and appropriate treatment. Analysis of 2 described cases suggests that omalizumab could be useful in the treatment of brittle allergic asthma.

Serum levels of CD163 and TWEAK in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Background: Inflammation may play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We evaluated the concentrations of serum sTWEAK, its scavenger receptor sCD163 and sTWEAK/sCD163 ratio in patients with PAH.

Design: The study enrolled 26 stable patients with PAH confirmed by right heart catheterization and 24 healthy volunteers matched for age, sex and body weight.