Factors associated with uncontrolled severe asthma in the biologic era.

Background: Despite the development of biologics for severe asthma, individuals with uncontrolled status persist, posing a significant social problem. This multicenter prospective study aimed to identify factors associated with the uncontrolled status of patients with severe asthma in the biologic era assessed using the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ).

Methods: Subjects with severe asthma diagnosed by respiratory specialists were enrolled from 11 hospitals.

A case report and literature review of nontuberculous mycobacterial disease caused by Mycolicibacterkumamotonensis.

Herein, we report a rare case of pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection caused by Mycolicibacter kumamotonensis in a 73-year-old man successfully treated with clarithromycin, rifampicin, and ethambutol. Seven cases of NTM disease caused by M. kumamotonensis have been previously described, with characteristics differing from those of more common NTM diseases.

Chemotherapy for patients with advanced lung cancer with interstitial lung disease: a prospective observational study.

Introduction: Although recent advances in chemotherapy for lung cancer are remarkable, most clinical trials have excluded patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) due to the concern of developing acute exacerbation (AE) of ILD. Hence, accumulating original evidence of cancer treatment for this population is important.

Methods: Between 2016 and 2020, a prospective observational study was conducted across 11 Japanese hospitals.

Macrolide resistant Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary disease following clarithromycin and ethambutol combination therapy.

Rationale: Whether two-drug therapy (clarithromycin and ethambutol) for Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) pulmonary disease contributes to the development of macrolide-resistant MAC is unclear.

Objective: To compare the incidence of macrolide-resistant MAC between patients treated with two-drug therapy (clarithromycin and ethambutol) and the standard three-drug therapy (clarithromycin, ethambutol, and rifampicin) for MAC pulmonary disease.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 147 patients with treatment-naive MAC pulmonary disease who had received two-drug therapy (n = 47) or three-drug therapy (n = 100) between 1997 and 2016 at National Hospital Organization, Tenryu Hospital, Hamamatsu, Japan.

Alterations in dystrophin-related glycoproteins in development of right ventricular failure in rats.

Genetic depletion of the dystrophin-related glycoprotein (DRGP) complex causes cardiomyopathy in animals and humans. The present study was undertaken to explore the possible involvement of alterations in DRGP in the development of the right ventricular failure in monocrotaline-administered rats (MCT rats). At the 6th and 8th weeks after subcutaneous administration of 60 mg/kg monocrotaline, echocardiographic examination showed that cardiac output indices were decreased and that the right ventricular Tei indices were increased, suggesting that right ventricular failure occurs, at the latest, by 6 weeks after monocrotaline-administration.